The Final Battle
by AlienGhostWizard14
Summary: The last day of school should be the best day of the year to a high school student. Yet when an ancient evil rises more powerful than ever, Randy Cunningham must fight to save everyone he loves and prove he is still a hero underneath his mask.
1. Chapter 1

**Okay, so good news: I'm posting this prologue early before the rest of the story. I'm trying to write out all the chapters before I start posting, but I feel like I should give you guys a taste on what this story is about. Chapter 1 probably won't be up for a while, as I still have a few chapters to finish. Hopefully early August is when I'll post again. But anyway, here it is: The Final Battle. I hope you enjoy.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Randy Cunningham: 9** **th** **Grade Ninja or the characters associated with it.**

 _Randy ducked underneath the Sorcerer's sword, before back flipping back to away to gain some room. The sorcerer however, wouldn't have that, taking another stab at the ninja as soon as he landed, only to be blocked by Randy's own sword. The Sorcerer started to push the ninja back, Randy making sure not to trip over any of the roots still present from when Evil Cyborg Julian had control of the Chaos Orbs._

 _Jumping off the staircase, a lunge from the Sorcerer created an explosion which knocked Randy back several feet, only for him roll into a crouching position. Pausing, the two enemies ran at each other, but right before their blade met, red smoke appeared around Randy. "Smokebomb!"_

 _The Sorcerer looked around, wondering where the ninja may have gone, when he heard a noise from above him. Reacting just in time, the Sorcerer met Randy's blade with his own blade, before pushing him off with his superior strength._

 _Randy flew across the room, this time not landing so gracefully. Groaning, he looked up to see the 800-year-old villain standing over him. Getting up, the two swung their swords at one another, when the Sorcerer's sword cut Randy's in half. Randy stared shocked at his now useless blade, faintly hearing a booing in the background from a student or faculty member._

 _Randy looked up to see the Sorcerer loomed closer, blade ready for the final strike and a smirk on his wrinkled face. "I have looked forward to this day for centuries. Vengeance is mine!" Raising his blade, he failed to notice the orange and yellow portal form right above his head._

 _The Sorcerer laughed, but was suddenly pinned down by a screaming Julian and Howard, who pinned the Sorcerer on his stomach. "That was terrifying," Julian said, slightly trembling._

 _The two teens groaned, sitting up. "What the juice did we land on?", Howard asked before the Sorcerer growled from underneath him. "Landed on the Sorcerer!", he said, now as terrified as Julian, who was slowly being pulled off the Sorcerer by some unknown force._

 _"What is happening," he asked, as did Evil Julian who was also being pulled, the two heading towards each other. Hearing his own voice, Julian smiled, waving hello. "Oh, hello, evil me," Julian said. Randy frowned; maybe the Land of Shadows did more damage to Julian than he originally thought._

 _Evil Julian screamed, trying to grab onto something as not to get too close to Julian. "Stay away!", he screamed in vain. Almost at the same spot, the two versions of the goth involuntarily stood up, merging back into a singular being. Standing for a moment, Julian giggled. "That tickled! Where did I go?"_

 _Randy was about to question that statement, wondering if Julian remembered anything from when he was split in two and trapped in a different dimension, when he noticed his best friend standing in front of him. "Howard!"_

 _Howard scoffed, both amused and annoyed at his best friend's predicament. "We're apart for five minutes and you let the Sorcerer out? This is why we have to stick together!" Randy was surprised no one questioned that statement. In hindsight, they were probably focusing more on the green skinned wizard that was about to kill their hero._

" _Get off me!", the Sorcerer exclaimed, starting to buck like a bull._

" _Get me off of him!", Howard yelled, starting to seriously freak out._

 _Randy groaned, starting to get annoyed with this whole situation. Pulling out a ninja ring and a slingshot, he carefully aimed for the belt where the Sorcerer kept his Chaos Orbs._

 _Finally getting the freshman off of him, the Sorcerer stood up and noticed Howard's foot was caught on his belt. Looking up to see his best friend, Howard officially lost his cheese. "What are you doing?!"_

 _Focused, Randy smirked under his mask. "Trust me," he said, silently wishing he sounded more confident than he felt._

" _I don't trust you!", Howard yelled, the Sorcerer reaching down towards him._

 _Instead of commenting back, Randy lined up his shot. "Ninja-Ring!" The circular blade shot through the air, hitting its mark exactly. The belt holding the Sorcerer's power was cut still stuck to Howard's leg, as he and the Sorcerer fell in different directions._

 _Howard laid down, smiling. "Never doubted you for a second, Ninja!"_

 _Looking over, the Sorcerer was livid. "Those belong to me!", he shouted, pointing at the balls. Reacting quickly, Randy ducked under the Sorcerer, sliding behind Howard while snatching the belt off his foot before standing up. In one motion, Randy threw the Chaos Orbs into the Sorcerer's Pit, watching them fall down to where the villain was trapped over centuries._

 _The Sorcerer looked over in despair. "My power!", he yelled._

 _Howard looked over in despair. "My shoe!", he yelled._

 _Resisting the urge to role his eyes at either of their cries, Randy saw the Eye of Eternity with the Sorcerer's Key sitting next to him. Grabbing it, the ninja quickly shoved the stone back into the center of the fish mosaic, resealing the prison, and returning everything to how it was before. Taking out the key, Randy looked up, satisfied at his work._

 _The Sorcerer cried out in defeat. "The day was mine!", he cried, again not noticing an orange and yellow portal appear next to him. Out of it stood the fancy pants fellow, who walked over and placed a comforting hand on the Sorcerer's shoulder._

" _It is over," the man said calmly, smiling up at the green skinned man._

" _Huh," the Sorcerer exclaimed before he realized who it was that addressed him. "You…", he said._

" _Us," the man said, grabbing the Sorcerer and looking him in the eyes. Randy's eyes widened slightly, not expecting this to happen. The two versions of the Sorcerer stared at each other for a moment before they both a smiled, a white light engulfing them both. Unlike Julian's merge which was forced, this merge was almost beautiful, both versions ready to be one person again._

 _Randy could only stare at the white light, not really sure how to respond to what was happening. The white light dimmed a bit before showing the human Sorcerer bowing down to Randy, gratitude all over his face. "Thank you for freeing us," he said. All Randy could think of doing was to give a thumbs up. He smiled one last time, before fading away, finally at peace._

 _Randy heard McFist yell something behind him, but was still too stunned to say anything. He only snapped out of it when his cynical best friend walked up to him. "Oh, a thumbs up? An_ 800-year-old _thank you and you give him a thumbs up?"_

 _Still feeling numb about everything that just happened, Randy didn't pay any heed to what the ginger said. Finally finding his words, a smile broke out on his face, though no one saw it. "Sweet cheese! I did it! I defeated the Sorcerer!" Randy couldn't believe it. Out of hundreds of ninjas before him, he was the only one that was able to defeat the ultimate evil. And he was only a freshman! Again, Randy heard McFist and Howard say something, but was too happy to care._

 _Randy only snapped out of it when he realized Doug had walked up to him and asked him a question. Not wanting to give away any ninja secrets and not wanting to admit he wasn't paying attention, randy did the first thing that came to his mind. "Doug, allow me to answer that question with a question of my own.", he began, pausing a moment after for dramatic effect. "Smokebomb?", he asked, dropping said ninja tool on the ground so he could make his escape._

 _As the red smoke cleared, Howard couldn't resist making one last remark. "If I'd known things were going to go this way I'd have worn different shoes." Seeing no one laugh, Howard followed everyone's lead and headed home for the day. Doug stood for one moment longer, before even he gave in to just letting things go and taking a nap. It had been a long day._

 _Unknown to Randy, Howard, or the Sorcerer, the Chaos Orbs were halfway down the pit after Randy sealed the prison. However, as the orbs were about to hit the ground, where the orbs would have sat forever, something unexpected happened. Howard's shoe suddenly came loose, causing the balance of the belt to change. It only changed direction slightly, though it was enough movement for the Chaos Orbs to hit something other than the concrete._

 _Now, why the main thing that weakened the Sorcerer's powers was the seal made by combining the Eye of Eternity with the seal made by the First Ninja. However, the chains that kept the Sorcerer in place still weakened the Chaos Orbs' magic, if only by a little bit. Yet, as the orbs made contact with the magical chains, its slight increase in power was all it took to crack the balls, all of them breaking like glass in one moment._

 _The gas exploded outwards, settling like a fog on the concrete pillar, before it started to rise. However, instead of heading for the pipes as an easy way out, the gas travelled up to the prison's celling, and started coming out through the small cracks in the prison. Once outside, the fog collected itself before slowly moving to the center of the seal, towards the Eye of Eternity. The chaotic magic swirled around the stone for a few moments, growing more and more concentrated, before it shot into the Eye of Eternity, a loud squawk heard as it entered. As more stank entered the stone, the yellow coloring faded to a sickening green, and if one looked closely, they could almost see the Stank swirling in the center._

 _As the last of the stank entered, it orb seemed to pulse with energy, a green glow radiating over the high school commons room. Something could be seen moving inside the magic stone, it seeming to be changing forms rapidly. The Eye of Eternity seemed to blink, the whole thing becoming a big red eye with a rectangular pupil. However, as more squawks were heard, the red color soon started to change. From the pupil, green swirls rapidly enveloped the eye, leaving everything that was once red now the sickening green color._

 _The stone blinked again, and the eye turned back into the Eye of Eternity with the green coloration. The light in the room started to fade, and as it grew dimmer, the stone began to return to its proper coloration, no signs of green anywhere in it. As all grew still, on last thing was heard in Norrisville High. It sounded like evil laughter, but it was coming from a bird. Though it seems ridiculous, it actually was quite terrifying. As the laughter died down, the lights in the school went out, and all went dark._


	2. Chapter 2

_07:09_

"So…", Howard began, but trailed off.

"Honking…", Randy continued, knowing what he was going to say, as he was thinking the same thing.

"Bruce…", the boys finished, saying the same thing.

Though they knew today was special, being the last day of the school year, the freshmen did not expect this when they woke up that morning. Surrounding Norrisville High was the largest carnival either teens had ever seen. Along the sidewalk were booths and tents housing games and attractions, prizes hanging from the ceilings to give some incentive. A large rollercoaster ran across the school, even through a part of the building itself. A large Ferris Wheel was seen in the distance, outlined by the morning sun. A few more rides were scattered along the premise, including a Tilt-A-Whirl, Log Fume, and a huge Moon Bounce. Somewhere on all the rides and tents was a picture of a red kangaroo, and the best friends could see a robot of the kangaroo bouncing around the school lawn. A shirtless Irving Slimovitz was never far behind.

Randy and Howard walked across the lawn, seeing some students who were already there enjoying the carnival. "Geez, Slimovitz really went all out this year," Randy said absentmindedly.

"I think I see why," Howard said, turned in the opposite direction of Randy. Turning around, Randy couldn't help but feel a bit of pride at a banner that was spread right over the school doors. ' _Here's To No More Monsters! Thank You Ninja!_ ' Underneath it told of how everything was funded by Whoopie World, but neither teen cared enough to pay it heed.

Randy smiled widely, pointing at the banner. "Howard you see this!? This is all because I beat the Sorcerer! Oh this is so bruce!", Randy said, doing a miniature celebration before blushing when a few kids giggled at him.

Howard grumbled, folding his arms. "I helped defeat the Sorcerer and no one is throwing me a carnival," the ginger said, only being half-serious. Truth be told, he was proud of his best friend for proving how much of a hero he can be. Not that he would ever say that out loud; Cunningham would never let him live that down.

Randy barely paid him mind, knowing he was mostly kidding around. Instead he looked around, and couldn't help smiling at what he saw. The students and faculty were having fun, running around playing games, or screaming in excitement as they rode the various rides. Some were taking selfies with Whoopie the kangaroo, and some were just hanging out with their friends, eating breakfast or making plans for summer vacation.

After the Ninja had defeated the Sorcerer, it didn't take the school long to figure out that all the monster attacks were caused by the Sorcerer. Then, the students who were around for Evil Julian's attack had heard McFist admit he was working with the 800-year-old wizard to kill the Ninja. It didn't much digging from the FBI to get enough evidence to imprison McFist and Viceroy for a variety of crimes, including disturbing the peace, destruction of public property, and conspiring to help an ancient wizard take over the world. That one was the real kicker. Now, five weeks later, not one attack against the town had happened and the people of Norrisville couldn't be happier.

Yet, Randy still felt something was missing. Of course he was happy that everyone was now safe; not only was it his duty as the Ninja, but he had always wanted to help people and protect them. And yet, though he was excited about summer and the carnival, he…missed being the Ninja.

Five weeks of no monster or robot attacks also meant Randy had no reason to ninja out. He was starting to go a bit stir crazy from just being Randy Cunnigham, the freshman no one seemed to notice. Randy could tell it was starting to annoy Howard also, Randy always ready to jump into action at the slightest inconvenience he saw. The rotund boy practically had to tackle Randy yesterday to stop him from going ninja to help someone pick up the groceries they dropped on the ground.

Looking over to his friend, Howard groaned, immediately knowing what his friend was thinking. The loud noise seemed to snap Randy out of his trance, now looking at the ginger. "No! I'm not letting you ruin today with your NFO's!"

Randy rose an eyebrow at what Howard said. "NFO's…"

Howard sighed, acting as if it was obvious. "Ninja Freak Outs!"

Randy gasped, almost appalled. "I am not freaking out! I am just…uh…remaining vigilant! Yeah! You never know when the Norrisville Ninja will be needed!", Randy exclaimed, seeming pleased at how he justified he was not NFO-ing.

Howard raised his arms up in exasperation. "For what? Changing someone's lightbulbs? Helping an old lady across the street?"

"Hey, they walk really slow. They could need me to swing them across…" Randy said, starting to lose confidence in his argument. Howard groaned, face-palming.

"Dude, the Nomicon hasn't even buzzed in over a month! When the commissioner stopped calling Batman, even he knew it was time to hang up his cape!"

Randy looked at him confused. "What issue was that in?", he asked. Though he looked amused, he was pretty sad about the hard truth Howard was giving him.

Howard sighed. He knew this was hard on his friend, not being able to help people anymore like he was used to. And the praise he got was a bonus. Rubbing his temples slightly, Howard turned to the banner, pointing at the words printed on it. "Look at what the sign says Cunningham," he said.

Randy rolled his eyes. "Howard, I know what the-" He was cut off as Howard forced him to look at the sign above him.

"Look at it!", he said. "It says "No More Monsters!' Cunningham, you beat the bad guy hundreds of other ninjas never could beat! It's all over thanks to you." Howard then put his hand on his best friend's shoulder. "But dude, your wonk attitude is starting to seriously freak me out! Just live a little. You never really had to the chance to just be a student without worrying on someone getting stanked or a Robo-Ape barging through the walls. Just relax for once," the ginger finished, putting his hands on his hips.

Randy sighed, knowing his friend was right. Taking one last look around to see nothing out of the ordinary, the purple-haired teen groaned. "Uh, I hate it when your right."

Howard smirked, patting his friend on the back. "Come on, you just need to find something to take your mind off of ninja business. Like maybe riding some rides, or-ooh getting some cotton candy. Don't worry, since your down, I'll spot you this time." Howard paused. "By the way, can I borrow 5 bucks so I can spot you."

Rolling his eyes, Randy reached into his backpack for his wallet. However, as he bent down to reach it, he failed to notice the two girls walking behind him. As he crouched down, he felt a something hit him, before he was forced to the ground with a small thud.

Groaning, Randy looked up, only to immediately feel his cheeks up to a dangerous temperature. Laying right on top of him was none other than his long-time crush, Theresa Fowler. Before the embarrassed ninja could say something that would probably make things worse, he felt the 15-year old girl being lifted off of him by her best friend, Debbie Kang.

Standing up, he started to apologize to Theresa in a gentlemanly way, while slipping in a few jokes that made Theresa and Debbie forget this whole ordeal. At least, that was the idea. "Uh-T-Theresa. T-trip...because of me. Fall-d-down-M-M-Misunderstanding. Lincoln-C-cotton candy," was what came out instead. Randy had to use all of his willpower not to face palm. He could hear Howard trying not to laugh behind him, but was more focused on the two confused looks he was getting.

"Uh…Good morning to you too, Randy," Theresa finally said, giving the embarrassed teenager a small smile. Debbie simply rolled her eyes, obviously not wanting to be around Randy and Howard for longer than she had to be.

Still bumbling like an idiot, Howard decided to be help his friend out. "Morning, Theresa." He paused. "Kang," he told the small girl with a small glare. She just glared a bit more. "How are you two lovely ladies this fine morning," he continued, acting like his arch-foe was someone else.

Theresa raised her brow, getting even more confused. "Fine…Are you okay, Randy?", she asked, redirecting her attention to the tall teen, who at this point had almost frozen in embarrassment.

Howard waved his hand dismissively. "He's fine. Isn't that right, Cunningham?", he asked, patting his best friend on the back. However, the simple action was all it took to make the boy lose balance. Randy fell over, staying stiffed as a board, causing Howard to start and chuckle nervously.

"Uh, that's a great idea, Cunningham! Yeah, a quick nap before class will really get us in the mood for…uh…learning. We'll see you two later," Howard said, a bit annoyed at his friend's actions. Chuckling awkwardly, he grabbed the purple-haired teen's foot and dragged him into the school.

As the doors closed behind the two boys, Debbie sighed, crossing her arms. "Those two are idiots," she said, not joking in the slightest.

"Yeah," Theresa absentmindedly, before a small smile came to her face. "But, one's a cute idiot." Debbie just rolled her eyes.

 _07:18_

Howard dropped Randy's foot, laying the boy near a water fountain. Showing no emotion, he grabbed Randy upper body, lifting him up enough to put his head on the water frown. Pushing the button, water came from the fountain and squirted on Randy's face, shaking him out of his stupor.

"Oh good, you're awake," Howard commented dryly. "Now would mind telling what the juice that was out there?!", Howard questioned, voice rising with each word in agitation.

Randy grabbed both sides of his head, seeming to realize what just happened. "What was that?!", he asked, his voice rising an octave or two.

Howard threw up his arms in exasperation. "What are you asking me for?!"

Randy gasped. "I totally choked. That was even worse than after the time she was hypnotized and broke into my room!", the ninja exclaimed.

Before his friend could panic any more, Howard gave him a good-natured slap across the face. Randy paused for a second, staring at his friend, then touching the spot on his face he assaulted, before yelling out, "What the juice was that for?!"

Howard pointed a finger at him, face serious. "THAT was to snap you out of your panic! Now, what's going to happen is you are going to march right out that door, go up to Theresa, and remedy this whole situation, because I'm not going to spend my whole summer listening to you talk about how you shoobed your chances with the girl who've been fawning over since 2nd grade!"

Randy listened to his friend's words, his worried look being replaced with a determined one. "Yeah…yeah you're right Howard! I'm going to go talk to Theresa!", he said firmly.

"That's the spirit!", Howard said, smiling.

"I'm going to do it!"

"You're going to do it!"

"I'm going to do it!"

"Why aren't you doing it?"

"Because I can't move my legs!", Randy cried. Howard slapped his face at that remark, before he started to forcefully push Randy towards the door. Randy started to panic again, maneuvering out of Howard's grasp. Standing a few feet away now, Howard groaned.

"Dude, I don't get it. You've done much more daring stuff before, like, oh I don't know, getting into a sword fight with an 800-year-old wizard! What's so scary about going to talk to a girl you like?", Howard said, getting really impatient.

Randy sighed. "That wasn't me man, that was the Ninja. The Ninja saves live, defeats the villains, has cool catchphrases. Randy Cunningham is a D-average student who's scared of chickens and talking to girls."

Howard just shrugged his shoulders at that. "Well, you do have a decent excuse for the chicken thing, with that big one-" he was cut off as Randy put his hands over the ginger's mouth.

"I thought we agreed never to talk of that incident ever again," Randy said, deadly serious.

"Understood. But, you _have_ talked to Theresa before just as Cunningham; like during that whole Sorceress thing. Plus, we know she likes you, so what's keeping you from talking to her as yourself?"

"Oh, besides the fact that I pretty much just blew her off to argue with you during that Sorceress fiasco?! Well, there was that whole NomiRandy thing, where I basically broke her heart! I mean sure, I fixed it, but we've barley said two words to each other since! I don't know what I'm going to do!"

"Don't forget when you lied to her with the Chuckacabra," Howard added. Randy hung his head, groaning. The ginger rolled his eyes. "Okay whatever. But dude, you need to get a grip. You _are_ the Ninja. And anything the Ninja can do, you can do just as well. Well, except throw fireballs. And control the Earth. And raise the dead. And-" Howard shook his, stopping his sentence. "I'm getting off track. The point is, _this_ could be the thing to stop you from NFO-ing! You just some confidence and a plan. And luckily, I have the perfect plan. So, my cousin's girlfriend knows a guy who can get us a hot air balloon, but who could get the jars of mayonnaise and the…" Randy stopped listening there, rather being left to his own devices.

His back to Howard, Randy pulled both the mask and the Ninja Nomicon from his jacket, sitting down. Setting the ancient book on his lap, Randy held his mask in his hands. He moved his fingers along the magic fabric, the smooth surface of the mask surprisingly soothing. He absentmindedly traveled along the red lines that traced the mask, thinking about how eventful a morning it had already been.

Part of Randy knew, while he really did like this girl and wanted to be in stable relationship with her, that this whole Theresa situation was just a way for Randy to distract himself from his real problem. He loved being the Ninja, and wasn't ready to just be Randy Cunningham again yet. While he hadn't been specifically told his hero days were over, each day made it more and more obvious that his time as the Norrisville Ninja was up.

Randy knew Howard was only trying to help, but he didn't understand. He _couldn't_ understand. The thrill of swinging from buildings, the joy when he just saved a student from a robot, even the confusion from one of the Nomicon's lessons. He knew he would have to pass the mask on one day, but he didn't know it would be this soon.

Randy stayed stoned face as he put the mask back into his jacket's inner pocket, before reaching down to grab the ancient book of ninja wisdom. His face immediately turned into a scowl that was directed to the sentient book. He stared at the cover, daring it to flash as a sign that something was going to happen. Yet after five minutes of just staring, Randy let out a sigh, putting the book away.

Randy frowned. He hated the way he was feeling. Even after all the battles he fought, after all the lessons he learned, he had finally done the impossible. He had beaten his greatest foe; he saved the world. He'd won.

So why does Randy keep feeling like he lost?

The purple haired boy's train of thought went back to a few months ago, during the whole Luscious O'Thunderpunch incident. He remembered back then how people discarded him in favor for the fake hero. He remembered how he hated feeling not wanted, not _needed_. But, the thing that kept sticking out to him were the Nomicon's words. " _When the ninja is no longer needed, the ninja shall lay down the sword._ "

Was this what the Nomicon had been talking about? Now that the Sorcerer was gone, was the Age of the Ninja over?

Randy was snapped out of his thoughts by the school's bell ringing, alerting students that though it was the last day of school, they still had class. Randy stood up, only to realize Howard had still been explaining his plan to Randy. Randy felt a bit guilty at first that he had zoned out, but that feeling left when he heard what his best friend was saying.

"…and that's when you jump out from underneath the muffin, wearing the Uncle Sam outfit. The butterflies will light the torches and when the mural is finally painted by the Belgian tigers, you give her the ham." Howard finished, having a satisfied look on his face. Randy tried to look supportive, but couldn't help confusion appearing instead.

Howard's face became bemused, looking accusingly at his friend. "Did you hear a single word I just said?"

Randy shrugged sheepishly. "Something about a ham in a muffin?" Though he meant it to be a statement, he frowned when it came out as a question.

Howard scowled, before the doors to the school opened, and students came flooding in. Deciding it wasn't worth, the ginger walked off towards English class, Randy pausing for a bit in the hallway. Taking one last peek at the Nomicon, he sighed seeing no red glow, before walking away. Maybe he was right; maybe the ninja was no longer needed.

Little did Randy know, the Ninja was about to be needed more than ever.

 _07:24_

In the Norrisville High commons, the last student had just sprinted into class, making the halls echo with his footsteps. As the echo subsided, all became quiet. Well, except for one voice.

"Hello? Anyone there?", Doug asked, his voice muffled by the metal box he was in. He couldn't believe Bash, shoving him in his locker on the last day of school. Oh, Principal Slimovitz was going to hear about this!

He pounded against the locker another time, hoping that the loud noise would alert someone to his predicament. After waiting a few moments, Doug sighed, thinking that no one heard. Unfortunately, someone did.

A low laughter began to sound from outside the locker, though it was loud enough for Doug to hear. "Hello? Is someone there?" The laughter continued for a few more seconds before it disappeared. "Hello? Are you leaving?! And you're just going to leave me in here?! What the juice?!" Though the laughter faded, leaving Doug again to his own thoughts.

Then, the laughter returned, though this time with more volume. Doug opened his to yell out again, but this time the sheer coldness of the laugh made him stand still, a chill running down his spine. "Hello? Is everything okay?" The Eye of Eternity slowly turned from yellow to green, a small cloud of stank appearing on the ground around it. When the stone became completely green, the cloud of gas began to expand, spreading along the floor of the room. The squawking laughter became louder, and it was amazing that no one in the school besides Doug seemed to hear it.

As the stank seemed to reach its limit, the Tengu Stone started to break. A large crack grew from the top, spreading in random directions along the smooth surface. As it started to break, a pulsing light came from the stone, the hole room turning a dark green. A shadow seemed to rise from the stone as the cracks continued until…

Everything stopped. The stank instantly disappeared. The room lost its green coloration. The cracks in the Eye of Eternity were fixed as the ominous shadow fell, fading into the stone. The laughter changed to a hiss, though it wasn't one of pain, but anger.

" _More…Need…Power_ ," a bone chilling voice echoed through the hallway. Though the bullied teen couldn't see it, stank again seeped out of the stone, but this time started to take a shape. A small gaseous body formed, with bits of the magical gas coming off of it at intervals. It then opened its two wings and let out a caw before flying into an air vent. Then everything was still.

"Hello? Are you still there?", Doug asked, not aware of what just transpired behind the metal doors of the locker. He paused. "What was with the creepy laughter?" Another pause. "HELP!"


	3. Chapter 3

_08:54_

The bell rung, signaling the end of first period. Some students walked out, excited for the break between classes. Some were going out to the rides, hoping to get to on the rollercoaster before they had to go back to learning. And then some walked out seemingly in pain, having to endure the torture that are finals. Amongst this group was Theresa Fowler.

As she walked dizzily out of Mrs. Driscoll's first period, her head still spinning at having to answer 20 essay questions in the 50-minute period. Of course, Mrs.-I'm sorry- _Mr_. Driscoll would try to make the test as hard as possible. Theresa could swear sometimes that "he" was evil.

Theresa stood still for a moment, trying to shake off her vertigo. When she regained balance, she sighed a bit. " _I did the best I could,_ " she told herself, though a little piece of the anxiety stayed in the back of her mind.

Before anymore self-loathing could happen, though, she was jolted from her mind by a short blue-haired girl. "Hey Theresa," Debbie said, showing her kinder side off to her best friend.

Theresa tried to sober up a smile, but Debbie could still tell it was forced. "Hey Debbie," she said.

Debbie frowned. "Okay, what's wrong," she asked, putting a hand on her hip.

Theresa internally cringed, but tried to keep hersmile. "What do you mean?", she asked, trying to appear innocent. Debbie just gave her a deadpan look.

Theresa sighed again, knowing there was no use trying to hide anything from her journalist friend. "I think I may have bombed my science exam," she muttered.

Debbie raised a brow, but still managed to give the purple haired girl a sympathetic look. "What makes you think you bombed it?", she asked.

Theresa raised her arms in exasperation. "Driscoll made the test impossible! It was like she wanted everyone to fail!"

"Really? Because I thought it was pretty easy," Debbie said nonchalantly, making Theresa groan. Debbie winced, realizing what she said.

The baton twirler sighed. "You know, some days it barely feels worth it," she said as she walked down the hallway. Debbie sighed, before following.

"I don't see why your worrying. We both know you did it a good job. There's no reason to be scared," the short girl reassured.

"There is a need to if it's the only test keeping you from having all A's," Theresa rebutted.

Debbie rolled her eyes. "Are you just going to point out why all my suggestions are wrong?"

Theresa shrugged, not looking up. "Seems like it."

Debbie opened her mouth to comment back, but was cut off from someone yelling down the hall. "Hey, come back you shoobs! Bash ain't done with yous yet!", Bash Johnson yelled, the Mean Bros standing at his sides. Looking up, Theresa and Debbie saw they were yelling at Randy and Howard, who were sprinting through the hallway to get away from the 11th grade bully.

The two girls felt their hair whip a bit as the two freshman rushed past, quickly followed by the bullies. Looking ahead, they saw the opposing groups take a turn, and were gone from sight.

Debbie frowned. "You see, _those_ are people that should be worried. They probably didn't even finish their finals," she said pointing in the direction Randy and Howard disappeared to.

Debbie waited a moment, expecting to hear Theresa say she was right, but was met with silence. Looking over, she resisted the urge to face palm when she saw the dreamy look on the purple haired girl's face. "Oh come on, Theresa! You can't just go from feeling shoobed to drooling over _Randy Cunningham_ of all people!" 

Theresa sighed, walking until she stopped at her locker. "I'm sorry. It's just that he looks so cute when he' s running for his life," she said, leaning against the metal doors.

Debbie groaned, before placing her hands on her best friend's shoulders. "Theresa, look at me. Randy is a loser. He's a straight D-student who isn't going to amount to anything. You _need_ to get over this crus of yours before he drags you down with him!", she said, stressing the last part a bit too much.

Theresa scoffed, shaking her friend's hands off of her. "Come on Debbie; we both know Randy isn't as bad as you say he is," she tried to reason.

Debbie sighed. "Okay, I admit, he can be a nice guy. But that is his _one_ good quality! Come on, Theresa; you can do way better than him!"

Theresa glared a bit at her friend, before she looked down. She knew Debbie had a point; Randy wasn't a great student, he barely socialized with anyone other than Howard, was always falling asleep in class, and sometimes skipped school all together. Part of her knew pursuing him could be dangerous to her.

But…Theresa smiled softly, a memory coming to her mind.

 _2 Years Ago…_

 _The bell had just rung at Norrisville Junior High School, signaling the beginning of lunch. Students walked out of their classrooms, talking to their friends. Yet one student walked alone, clutching her books to her chest, a dejected look on her face. This was the seventh grade Theresa Fowler._

 _Theresa sighed, walking to her locker. Today hadn't been going very well for her. First, her only friend, Debbie Kang, was sick today, so Theresa had been lonely the whole morning. Then, she missed her bus, and had to run 12 blocks in the pouring rain to get to school on time. And once she got to school, she realized she left her homework at home, getting a zero on her math assignment._

 _She looked up, hearing laughter from across the hall. Turning around slightly, she saw two boys she had seen a few times in passing. The first was a short, overweight boy with orange hair who had his hands on his knees because he was laughing so hard. The other was tall and skinny with purple hair, who was leaning against the locker laughing. She thinks their names were Howard and randy, but she wasn't positive. Theresa sighed, not helping but feel a bit jealous at the two friends having a good time together._

 _Putting her math book away, Theresa started to walk to the cafeteria, hoping today's food was actually edible. However, as she was leaving, she felt her legs hit something, and the next thing she knew, she was lying face first on the hallway floor. Rolling on her back, Theresa saw the biggest bully in school, Doug Jaminski, standing over her laughing. His laughter seemed to be contagious, as the whole hallway started to chuckle. Not too long after, almost everyone in the general vicinity was laughing hard, some actually finding this scene amusing, others just not wanting to be targeted by not laughing with Doug._

 _Theresa felt tears prick her eyes, but tried to hold back her sobs. However, as Doug reached over and grabbed her backpack, dumping its contents on the floor, Theresa couldn't hold them back any longer, beginning to hysterically cry. She heard the bully bend down, reaching for something, but she couldn't see what. When she heard Doug's voice though, her eyes widened beneath her hands."Ooh, what is this? A diary? Ha, how lame can you get?" This only made Theresa start to cry harder._

 _Doug smirked, slipping the small, pink book into his pocket absentmindedly, knowing he could have some fun with it. Standing up, he turned to walk away, feeling satisfied that he made someone feel so inferior. That was until he heard someone yell from across the hallway. "Hey you jerk! Don't walk away!" Everyone in the hallway went quiet, as if the laughter was never there in the first place. As Doug turned around, Theresa eyes dried a bit as she looked up, both wondering who had been crazy enough to call out Doug like that. Two sets of eyes locked on the purple haired boy, who no longer had any amusement on his face, it being replaced by an annoyed glare. The ginger next to him looked panicked, slowly backing away from his friend._

 _Doug scowled, walking over to the boy, a fist in hand. Howard started to tug on his friend's hoodie, trying to get him to run away, but Randy stayed still. Although, it was unclear if it was from bravery or if he was too scared to move as Doug reached the pre-teen. Grabbing the purple haired boy's shirt, Doug slammed Randy into the adjacent locker, everyone in the room wincing from the noise._

" _What did you say, punk?", Doug asked, his voice dangerously low._

 _Randy gulped, seeming to just realize the position he had put himself in. "Uh, w-well, I was just saying t-that, you know, you were kind of…uh…being a jerk to that girl. I-I mean, don't you think you went a bit too far?", Randy asked, noticing Doug glare more with each word he spoke._

" _No, no I don't. Now, I'll give you one chance to apologize. Else, things are not going to end well for you," Doug warned, bringing Randy's face closer to his._

 _Theresa expected Randy to take back his words, not blaming the boy. Yet instead, Theresa was surprised to see Randy's scared face turn back to his annoyed glare, showing he wouldn't do as Doug said._

 _Doug growled, pulling his fist back. "You asked for this," he said, no remorse in his voice. Theresa had to look away, only hearing the groans and pained shouts from the only kid who showed any courage to the bully. After a few minutes, she heard something drop, and after a few seconds, everything was silent._

 _Daring to open her eyes, she gasped at the scene she saw. Doug turned to run down the hall, a teacher breaking from the crowd to follow him. Howard came from the direction the teacher was before rushing over to the form lying on the floor. Theresa couldn't stop from gasping at Randy's current condition. He had multiple bruises and cuts lining his body, including a busted lip and a black eye. His shirt and hoodie were torn in several places, certain areas having some blood on it. His arm was bent in an uncomfortable way, and he had his hand on his side, groaning._

 _Theresa got up, running over to the beaten boy, while Howard called out for someone to go and get help. Kneeling down, Theresa started to reassure Randy he was going to be okay, when the boy surprised her again. Randy reached to where he was holding his side, and pulled out a little pink book. Smiling at Theresa, Randy could no longer take the pain, passing out._

 _Theresa grabbed the book, still shocked at what he did. After a few moments, she smiled, albeit sadly, and held the book to her chest. "Thank you," she whispered._

Theresa smiled, knowing that that was the day she knew she fell for Randy Cunningham. Debbie may be right about a lot of things, but she wasn't right about him. He wasn't a loser; he was a great guy with a heart of gold. He was someone who would get a broken arm to get someone's diary back.

Theresa looked at her best friend, an annoyed yet determined look on her face. "Look, I know you and Randy aren't exactly best friends, but as your actual best friend could you please stop insulting the guy I like." Finishing, she flipped her hair, before walking farther down the hall.

Debbie blinked, shocked that her friend said that to her. Theresa usually never got mad at her, there only being like three times the two have fought before. Yet, seeing Theresa getting so upset on Debbie's comments on her best friend's crush showed that maybe she went a bit too far. Shaking her head, Debbie ran up to catch her friend, hoping to apologize.

 _8:58_

The stank bird flew through the school's air vents, searching for someone to attack. It had been nearly an hour, and could feel that it was starting to fade. It knew if it couldn't find someone to stank soon, it's master would never be able to gain power, and would be trapped forever.

Suddenly, it's head perked up, hearing something from its right. Gliding down one duct and to a vent covering, it could hear a girl talking heatedly to someone. But more importantly, it felt the negativity in those words. The anger, the hurt, the sadness. If it had a mouth, it would have smirked. "Look, I know you and Randy aren't exactly best friends, but as your actual best friend could you please stop insulting the guy I like," the girl said heatedly.

The stank bird could hear her footsteps approach the vent, and spread its wings. Letting out a caw that sounded as if it should have come from a beast much larger than it was, it flew through the covering.

 _8:59_

"Theresa, wait!", Debbie shouted, making her friend pause. Theresa sighed, stopping and turning around, arms crossed. Debbie started to slow down, but froze at what she heard. Somewhere in the hallway, an ear-splitting noise sounded through the hallways, making every student cover their ears in pain. As it passed, Debbie opened her eyes, only to gasp. Behind Theresa, what looked like a green bird came out of a vent, and headed straight for the baton twirler.

As it flew around Theresa, freezing the girl in shock, it started to lose its solid form, becoming a bundle of green gas. A green gas everyone in the school knew all too well. Theresa gulped, realizing what was about to happen.

The stank circled the girl, before entering her open mouth. Debbie could only watch as her friend's alabaster skin turned to a light green color and her dark blue eyes bugged out, turning a disgusting yellow. Her teeth sharpened into fangs, and her legs melded together, becoming a group of tentacles. As her body grew, becoming less human and more plant like, the students in the high school's hallway ran away, screaming their lungs out.

As Theresa's hair grew out, becoming spiker, the stanked teen let out a monstrous roar, the air blowing Debbie's hair back. Theresa then turned and rammed into the school wall, disappearing from Debbie's line of sight. As the blue haired girl heard students and teachers scream in the distance, one thought came to hear mind.

" _Well shoob me sideways…_ "


	4. Chapter 4

_8:57_

Randy groaned, leaning against the ledge of the roof. He really needed to do more cardio. Though, maybe not as much as Howard. He watched as his best friend laid on the ground, out of breath.

"Running…is the worst thing ever!", the ginger said, getting on his knees. "You are _so_ lucky that Bash didn't catch us for what you did, or else I would never have let you live it down," Howard said, standing up.

Randy whipped up from his spot, looking shocked. "What _I_ did?! You're the one who squirted water all over the Mean Bros!" Randy insisted, waving his arms in exasperation.

Howard didn't pay his friend's irritation any mind, instead waving him off. "I squirted water, you squirted water, who can remember the specifics? Let's just agree to forget about your mistake, okay," Howard said, walking past his irate friend. Randy began to gasp like a fish, almost not believing what his friend had said. However, with a groan, he realized he wasn't going to win this, and decided to just letit go.

"So, what do you want to do first?" Howard asked, looking down at the carnival.

Randy cocked a brow, pointing back at the roof's exit "Uh, Howard; you do realize that we only have like, 5 minutes before we have to get to class? By the time we get down there, we'll have to come back in. Shouldn't we start head to class?"

Howard paused for a moment, before he burst out laughing. Randy's eyebrow travelled further up his face, as the ginger had to lean against the school's wall to not fall down. "H-head to class he says! Oh…that…is priceless!". The dainty handed teen continued to laugh until he realized he was the only one laughing. Looking up, he was surprised to see Randy's face filled with confusion and a bit of annoyance. "Uhh…why aren't you laughing?"

"Why would I be laughing?", Randy asked.

"Because you just made a bruce joke," Howard answered, chuckling a bit at the end.

"I wasn't joking," Randy said, surprised his friend thought otherwise. Howard gasped, his mouth flying open. Grabbing his friend's hand, he started to run across the roof towards the door, Randy being dragged behind. "What are you doing?!", the ninja asked.

"We need to get to the nurse, quickly! I'm thinking it might be heat stroke, but let's not rule anything out yet! Don't worry Cunningham, we'll get you the proper help you need!", Howard yelled, not slowing down while he talked.

Randy planted his foot, grabbing his friend's arm, causing him to stop. "Howard, I'm not sick! I'm just saying that we shouldn't be late to class is all. No biggie," Randy said nonchalantly, prying Howard's hand off his arm.

"Oh, _yes_ biggie. Cunningham, you hate class! I mean, you wanting to go to class is like the first sign of the apocalypse or maybe-" Howard cut himself off, a thought coming to him. His worried look became bemused, and he crossed his arms. "Oh, I see what's happening here."

"What's going on here?", Randy asked, really getting annoyed.

"You don't really want to go to class. You're just going through withdrawals," Howard said matter-of-factly.

"Withdrawals? What the cheese are you talking about?! I haven't withdrawn from anything!" Randy said, very confused.

"Oh, that's where you are wrong, my dear Cunningham," Howard said. Taking a second to look at the roof exit, he reached into his friend's hoodie, pulling out the Ninja Nomicon. "You are going through Nomicon withdrawal!"

Randy scoffed at the idea, quickly putting away the 800-year-old book of ancient ninja wisdom. "That's ridiculous. I am _not_ going through Nomicon withdrawal," he insisted.

"Oh yes you are! That's why you can't wait to get to class; to be taught a lesson!", Howard rebutted. Randy opened his mouth to deny his friend's accusation, but paused. Though he hated to admit it, Howard made sense; he missed being the Ninja and training in the Nomicon, so he was trying to replace the book with another teacher.

"Cunningham, you have to stop this wonk behavior!", Howard said, snapping Randy out of his train of thought. "I've tried to say this as nicely as I can, but it obviously hasn't gotten through your thick skull, so here it is: The Ninja and the Nomicon are no longer needed! The robots are dismantled, the monsters are gone, it's over! There is nothing left for you to fight!"

Just then, the two boys heard a loud crash from below them. Looking down, both of their jaws dropped when they saw the stanked form of Theresa rush out of the school building, students running away in a panic. Howard then looked very angry, throwing his fists in the air. "Are you kidding me?! Really?! Is the universe trying to make me look like a shoob?!", the ginger asked irately.

Randy paid him no mind, still shocked at what he was seeing. A monster? How is that possible? The Sorcerer is gone; there shouldn't be any more monsters. This made no sense. That is what Randy should have been saying. Instead, he broke out in a grin, almost laughing. "Oh, look at that! A monster! Looks like someone is needed!" Howard only grumbled in response.

Making sure no one could see him on the roof, Randy pulled out the Ninja Mask from his jacket. "Oh man, have I missed saying this: it's Ninja O'Clock!" Slipping the fabric over his head, he instantly felt the magic cloth wrap around his body, turning him from Randy Cuningham into the Norrisville Ninja.

 _9:01_

Theresa continued to rage havoc on the carnival, smashing a few tents here and there, when a big puff of red smoke came from her left. "Smokebomb!", the Ninja said, sword in hand. "Oh man, you do not know how much I missed this! Yeah, you are-are you kidding me?!" Randy immediately looked dumbfounded as he saw who the stanked teen was. "Out of all the students in the school, it had to be Theresa! Oh, come on, how is that fair! Howard's right, the universe is just trying to make us look like-Oof!" Randy was cut off as his stanked crush hit in the chest, causing him to sail backwards, crashing into the wall of the school.

The Ninja stood up, walking a bit dizzily after the unexpected attack. "Okay, I definitely did not miss that." After a moment, he shook his head, the pain fading away, before getting in a battle stance. He ran towards Theresa, pulling out a Ninja Ring from his suit. As she lifted up a random student, the Ninja made his move. "Ninja-Ring!", he shouted, chucking the circular blade. He watched as the blade cut through the student's shirt, before Randy caught him as he fell from the plant-like monster's grasp. No one noticed, however, as the blade continued flying forward until it hit the rollercoaster, slicing through a few support beams.

Setting the student down by the sidewalk, the Ninja paused, analyzing the situation. As Theresa began to turn around, a couple of doodle arrows appeared in the Ninja's line of sight, pointing at a metal stick in the monsters' pocket. Understanding what he had to do, Randy grabbed a light blue ball from his suit before again charging at his stanked crush.

"Ninja-Cold-Ball!", he yelled, tossing said ball on the ground in front of Theresa. As it exploded, a layer of ice appeared on the front lawn, taking Theresa by surprise. Losing her balance, Theresa fell forward, crashing into the rollercoaster in front of her. More support beams snapped, though again no one noticed. As she fell, Randy used his scarf to snag the baton from the monster's pocket, tossing it the air.

Randy brought his sword out, ready to slice the metal bar in mid-air. "Ninja-Sli-What The Juice?!" Randy was caught off guard as he heard a loud creak come from Theresa's direction. As the baton fell on the blade, releasing the stank from it, the rollercoaster came crashing down where Theresa was. As she started to destank, the structure landed on top of her, burying her underneath the ride.

Randy had to stop himself from yelling in terror. Rushing forward, he used the suit's strength the lift some of metal off of the teenage girl. After lifting a few beams, Randy gasped at what he saw.

Lying on the ground was a worse for wear Theresa Fowler. Since most of the damage occurred while she was still stanked it wasn't as bad as it could have been, but it still was not good. She had a few bruises on her pale skin with scrapes and cuts surrounding them. Her dress was torn at the hem, and her tights were ripped in several places. But what concerned Randy most was how still Theresa laid. She didn't move a muscle; her chest wasn't even rising and falling with her breathing. It almost looked like she was…

" _Oh sweet cheese_!", Randy thought panicked, suddenly bending down to the girl. Putting his ear to her chest, he breathed a sigh of relief when he could still hear it breathing. Though, Randy knew it should not be that soft, and paled when he felt it beating slower by the second.

The Ninja looked up, blocking out the worried shouts coming from the people around him. He could tell that emergency services wouldn't get there in time to help Theresa, and the school's nurse didn't have the equipment to save her either. He was her only hope.

Randy looked around quickly, knowing he would have to do something fast. His eyes suddenly landed on the roof, and a few doodle lightbulbs hovered over his head. Taking a chance, Randy grabbed a ball from his suit and threw it on the ground, filling the area with red smoke. "Smokebomb!" was the last thing that was heard before the Ninja disappeared. But what worried people most was that Theresa had disappeared too.

People began to panic, wondering what had happened, but only one person noticed a black figure maneuver his way to the roof. Eyes narrowing, Debbie Kang turned away from the chaos, heading for the stairs.

The Eye of Eternity glowed brightly. Cracks began to reform on the surface, this time not fixing themselves. The squawking laughter continued as the stank surrounding the commons grew. Power pulsed from the stone as the room filled with green light. Just a bit more…

Everything once again stopped as the stank bird came back to the stone, fading away. The stone lost its green coloration, returning to yellow. However, the cracks stayed this time, bits of stank leaking out every few seconds. A voice growled. " _Bit…Power…Again…_ " it spoke.

Another stank bird started to form over the stone, but faded away before it was finished. Another growl came. There wasn't enough chaos to make another drone to stank someone. Now the only way a monster could be made was if they were vulnerable in the commons.

The room seemed to darken slightly as something moved in the Tengu Stone. Luckily, this was a high school, and drama that was needed was merely around the corner. It was now just a matter of time.

 _9:13_

Randy landed on the roof, setting Theresa Fowler down on the ground as gently as possible. The Ninja readied his hands, prepared to do something, when he was distracted by the person who was already on the roof. "What the juice was that?!", Howard asked, panicked. He saw the whole fight from the roof, and could point out a few ways Randy could do better next time. Like, for starters, _not_ fatally injuring a student.

"I don't know! I didn't mean for it to happen!", Randy exclaimed, trying to justify what happened.

"Oh man, this is bad. This is really, _really_ bad," Howard began, pacing.

"Don't worry, I have a plan to fix this," Randy said, getting back into the positron he was in before Howard distracted him.

"A plan! What kind of plan can fix this?! It's not like you have some special power that could just heal There-" Howard stopped talking as he saw his best friend's hands emit a yellow light. "Oh, wait, that's right, you do.," he said, immediately calming down.

Nodding, Randy put his hands on Theresa's stomach, trying to ignore the blush coming to his cheeks. "Ninja-Art-Of-Heal!", he exclaimed, and Theresa's wounds started to heal.

Standing up, the Ninja put his hand to his sides, feeling incredibly happy. "Oh yeah, that's right; who's not needed anymore? Not me, that's who!"

Howard rolled his eyes. "Yay, you saved the day. No can we please take a moment to question what the juice happened?!", he exclaimed, referring to Theresa being stanked.

Randy paused, putting a finger to his lips. "Oh yeah, that could be a problem."

"You think?!", Howard exclaimed. "I thought the Sorcerer was gone forever!"

"He is! At least I thought he was…" Randy exclaimed, starting to realize they could have a big problem on their hands. "But even if he was, the Power Balls are still trapped in the hole. There's no way he could have gotten them!"

"Well apparently, there is a way! I mean, come on, Cunningham-"

"Cunningham?" Both boys froze in shock when they heard two female voices. Randy turned and paled when he saw that Theresa was awake, and had apparently heard their whole conversation. Howard turned around and groaned when he saw Debbie standing at the doorway, who was surprised at what she had just heard.

"Theresa! Debbie! You're…both here. How much did you hear?", the Ninja exclaimed, trying not to panic.

Theresa rose a brow. "Um…all of it?" Randy and Howard paled, feeling lumps form in their throats. "Howard, why did you call the Ninja Cunningham?", she asked, very confused.

"Uh-uh…hey, guys look! Theresa is fine; I healed her! Yes, no need for thank you's. I'll just smokebo-". Randy really wished the distraction would work so he could leave before he was put in an impossible situation. No such luck.

"Why would Howard call you by his best friend's name? And while we're at it, why are you even up here, Howard?", Debbie asked, the gears in her head turning.

Randy and Howard began to sweat, but Howard still managed to answer. "I-I didn't. No, I didn't say Cunningham. I said…running…jam…" Both boys winced at the ginger's excuse, but Randy knew he had to play along.

"Y-yes. This young man was just teaching me a new dance move. The Running Jam," Randy said, using his Ninja voice. Both boys then started to dance two completely different dances, hoping the girls would buy it. They did not.

"No, you said Cunningham. To the Ninja," Debbie said, closing the door as she walked towards the boys. She stared at the two boys for a few moments, the pieces slowly coming together in her mind. The short girl's eyes suddenly lit up, her mouth dropping in shock as the last piece clicked into place. "Oh my cheese…"

"No. No cheese. There is no reason for cheese," Randy exclaimed, hoping Debbie wasn't thinking what he thought she was thinking. Theresa's brow was cocked, confused at what her friend was talking about. Howard was chewing on his fingernails, the seriousness of the situation even worrying the usually laid-back teen.

"I don't know how, but somehow this makes sense…" Debbie said as she pointed her finger at the Ninja, who at this point had to lean against a nearby wall as his legs were no longer working. "The Ninja is Randy Cunningham!" Theresa gasped in shock, a hand flying to her mouth, while Randy started to feel sick.

"W-what? W-who is that? I've never heard of that name before. Is that even a real name; it sounds fake…" Randy could feel by now he was only running on steam, but he knew he had to try and play this out.

The girls slowly started to approach Randy and Howard, not even listening to them any longer. The boys gulped. "Wait, I have heard that name before. From that girl Heidi's show. But I think his name was Sandy…"

"Nope, it was Candy," Howard joined in.

"Or was it Mandy?"

"Ryan?"

"No, I remember what it was now. It was Ranginald. Yep, Ranginald Bagel, that's the guy your-" Randy stopped as he felt lines of cloth leave his body and saw a bright light appear in front of him. Readjusting his eyes, he saw Howard's panicked face and two girls whose mouths were hanging open. "They took off my mask, didn't they?", Randy deadpanned. Howard slowly nodded his head.

"Oh. My. Wowzers. Debbie was right," Theresa said, dropping the ninja mask in shock.

"Oh boy," Randy muttered under his breath. He then gave the girls a sheepish smile. "Uh…this isn't what it looks like?" As he said that, he winced as it sounded more like a question than a statement question.

Debbie's open-mouthed gasp slowly turned into a grin, as she basically jumped up and down in excitement. "This is fantastic! I can see the headline now: ' _Freshman Reporter Unmasks the Masked One_ ," she said. She then whipped out her voice recorder, putting it in Randy's face. "Any statements for the public, Randy?"

Randy started to chuckle nervously, taking Debbie's recorder from her hand, surprising her. "Uh, no, no, no. There will be no statement. There will be no headline. _This_ ," he gestured to the ninja mask as he picked it up, "doesn't leave this rooftop. No one can say anything about this."

Debbie crossed her arms, bemused. "I'm a journalist, Randy. I can't not tell anyone."

"Huh, that's the same thing you said last time," Randy said, a finger on his chin in thought.

"Last time?"

"RANDOM WORDS!", Randy suddenly yelled, confusing the short girl.

"Now hold a second, what do you-"

"What the juice?!" Everyone was snapped out of their thoughts by a shrill scream. Three heads turned towards Theresa, who until this moment had been strangely quiet. "Debbie, how are taking this so well?! I mean, we just found out Norrisville's biggest secret and you're acting as if you were just told the honking weather!"

Debbie shrugged. "I don't know. It just kind of…makes sense I guess," she said, a bit confused on how she was taking this so well also but was focused more on the scoop at hand.

"You think it this may be a side effect of the mind wipe?", Howard tried to whisper to Randy without the two girls hearing. It did not work.

"Mind wipe?", Debbie asked.

"BACK TO BUSINESS!", Howard yelled.

"T-This makes no sense!" Theresa said, turning towards Randy. "How can you be the Ninja! Your 15! The Ninja is 800 years old!"

Randy put his hands up, trying to calm the girl down. "Sshhh, sshhh. Calm down Theresa. I promise this all has a perfectly reasonable explanation…" He paused. "This is all a dream." He was met with three deadpan looks, making him rub the back of his head sheepishly. "Okay, I admit, that one was a long shot."

"H-how is any of this possible?" Theresa asked, looking as if she was about to pass out.

"Yes Randy? How is this possible?", Debbie asked, pulling out another voice recorder from her pocket.

"Oh my cheese, Debbie! How many of these things do you have?", Randy asked, again taking the recorder from the reporter's hand. As he looked back up, he groaned when he saw she had another recorder in her hand. "Seriously! Okay, whatever. Look, you two can't tell anyone about this! No one is supposed to know about this. I mean, I can get in serious trouble for you two finding out!"

"Who would you get in trouble with, Randy? Does someone else know about you being the Ninja?", Debbie asked, smirking.

"Will you stop doing that!", Randy yelled. "Look, I can answer your questions later, but I need you to promise me that no one will ever find out about this." The girls looked at each other, both hearing the pleading tone in Randy's words. "Please…" Randy tried one more time.

Debbie looked like she wanted to say something, but was cut off by Theresa. "Okay, we won't tell anyone." Debbie whipped her head at Theresa, dumbfounded on what her friend had just said. Though one look at her face told Debbie to not argue. Begrudgingly, Debbie put her recorder back in her pocket while her friend talked. "But, I feel like we deserve some form of explanation here," the purple haired girl said.

Randy nodded. "Yeah, sure. I can totally give you guys an explanation. Just not right now."

"Why not now?", Debbie asked, starting to lose her patience.

Randy paused. "Uh well, I can't now…because-", Randy had to himself from cheering as the bell rung underneath them, signaling the beginning on second period. "Class! Yes, ye…we have to get to class. Can't be late, can we?".

Debbie narrowed her eyes a bit, making Randy gulp. Then, she pointed a finger at him and another at Howard. "Lunch. 12:00. Editorial Room. Either we get told everything, or you get on the front page." As she finished, she turned to walk down the stairs. Theresa stayed behind an extra second, still not sure about what just happened.

"Uh…see you then, Randy," she said quietly, and ran off after her friend. The door closed behind the two, which allowed the two boys to now panic in peace.

"OH MY CHEESE!", Howard shouted, starting to pace. Randy dropped to his knees, curling up into the fetal position.

"This isn't happening. This isn't happening," he muttered, feeling like he was going to be sick. Howard bent down, picking his friend up, and shook him. He wasn't positive if it was because he was trying to snap his friend out of his stupor, or it was his nerves.

"What are you going to do!" Howard yelled.

"I don't know!" Randy said as he was being shook. Suddenly, the constant shaking caused the mask and the Nomicon to slip out of Randy's jacket, falling onto the roof. Both boys paused, now only looking at the ancient book.

After a moment, Howard patted Randy on the back, appearing to have calmed down. "Well, it was nice knowing you, Cunningham. Don't worry, I'll make sure to teach you everything you forgot after the Nomicon fries your cheese."

Randy gulped, knowing what his friend said was true. The Ninja Nomicon was going to take the mask away from him because he let Theresa and Debbie find out the truth. Cautiously, the purple haired teen picked up the book, waiting for it to shloomp him in. He tried to look away, but eyes couldn't move from the ornate cover. Howard, however, put his hands over his eyes, not able to watch. And then…

Nothing happened. Randy looked forward, a confused look replacing his terrified one. Howard peaked from behind his hands, and instantly became as confused as his friend. Randy slightly shook the book, seeing if maybe the book was asleep or something.

Howard rolled his eyes, grabbing the book from Randy's hands. He then started shaking the book erratically, slamming it a few times against the wall for good measure. "Is this thing out of batteries or something?"

"Howard, what are you doing?!", Randy exclaimed, unsuccessfully trying to take the book back from his friend's hands.

"What? I thought you'd be happy that I was trying to fix your stupid book," the ginger said innocently.

"You can't fix the Nomicon! Especially when it's trying to erase my memory!" Randy yelled, taking the book back. Howard grumbled, looking at the floor. Yet his annoyed glare turned to wide eyes as he saw what was on the ground.

"Maybe the wisdom is leaking out."

"Cunningham."

"Is there a hole somewhere?"

"Cunningham!"

"Is that why my shoe feels wet. Wait, nope, that's sweat-"

"CUNNINGHAM!"

"What Howard?! What is so important-" Randy asked turning around, only to stop mid-sentence at what he saw. In Howard's hands was the Ninja Mask, but the red lines that usually glowed were turning gray quickly, the color draining from the mask in just a few moments. Then, color appeared at once in the lines, except instead of the red Randy was used to seeing, it was a sickening green.

"I think we may have a bigger problem," Howard said. The stress finally becoming too much for Randy, he did the only thing any sensible person would do in his situation. He passed out.


	5. Chapter 5

_9:16_

" _Students, if you were around during today's surprise monster attack, you may have noticed the Ninja capturing the twirl team captain, Theresa Fowler. Bur rest assured, Ms. Fowler has been found, and is okay._ " People in classrooms sighed in relief, being worried about their classmate's well-being.

" _Now normally, we would release students due to damage done. However, as some still have to take third period exams, we have decided to keep classes in session for the time being._ " Students groaned, hoping that the reveal people could still become monsters would be grounds for an early dismissal. Slimovitz signed off the intercom, allowing teachers to get back to teaching.

"Alright students, you heard Principal Slimovitz. Back to the lesson at hand," Mrs. Driscoll said, looking quite annoyed as well, but didn't comment. "Now, because it is the last day of school, I thought that maybe we should all play a game to pass the time…" The people in the science classroom perked up, excited to at least be doing something fun for the hour and a half. "Then I thought I made a pretty funny joke." More groans rang from the desks.

"Wow, Mrs. Driscoll. That was quite the _charade_ you pulled," Bucky said as he groaned, before sitting up, smiling widely. "No-Games-Zing!"

Mrs. Driscoll scowled slightly at the band geek, before turning to the chalkboard. "Anyway, students, today I want to talk about energy. As we know, there are six major forms of energy: Mechanical, Thermal, Nuclear, Electrical, Chemical and Electromagnetic. Mechanical has to do with…" Everyone started to zone off after that, not bothering to care about something they won't even be tested on.

The door opened a crack, and two heads looked in. As they saw their teacher facing the opposite direction, a still dazed Randy and Howard snuck in, quickly making it to their lab table. Sitting down, Randy quickly opened one of the science textbooks, using it to hide the Ninja Nomicon.

"What the juice happened out there, Cunningham," Howard muttered. Randy looked down at his lap where the Ninja Mask was. The green coloring remained, though its vibrant glow had passed.

"I don't know. This is a really bad. I don't know what to do."

"Well, you better think of something soon, cause from what I can tell, you have three problems to deal with."

"I know, I know. I think I just need to take this class to think of a plan that does not involve me telling Theresa and Debbie ancient ninja secrets." At least that was the plan.

"Mrs. Driscoll, Randy and Howard snuck into class late and keep talking!", Doug suddenly called from the table in front of them.

"Really Doug?! You just had to do it, didn't you?!", Howard yelled, causing Doug to smirk.

"Mr. Cunningham, Mr. Weinerman, I know that it's an exciting time, being it the last day of school and all, but I will not tolerate any talking in my class." She then went over to Jerry, using him as a puppet, which is creepier when said out loud. " _You two better stay quiet! I'm going to keep my sockets on you!_ "

The two boys grumbled out affirmations, but not without Howard knocking his bag forcefully into Doug. Mrs. Driscoll glared at them one more time before she turned back to the blackboard, resuming her lesson. "As I was saying, while all of these forms of energy are different, they will always have one thing in common. None of these types of energy can be created or destroyed. It however can be transferred, leading into the Law of Conservation of Energy…", she continued, either not aware or not caring people stopped listening to her.

"Stupid Doug," Howard whispered heatedly. Randy nodded, opening his mouth to answer, when he saw a familiar red glow. Peeking into his science textbook, he gasped as he saw the Nomicon signaling him to shloomp, albeit the red glow was much dimmer than usual.

"Oh, hey. You're okay. That's good, that's good. Glad to see that," Randy said sheepishly. "So, uh, I'm guessing you want to talk to me about the whole Debbie and Theresa situation, right?" The Nomicon glowed in response. "Okay, that's cool. Here's a thought though, just hear me out…we don't and forget about it." The Nomicon glowed brighter, starting to shake, making Randy groan. "Uh, fine, just give me a second." Looking up, he was met by Howard's deadpan expression.

"You do know how weird it is to watch you have a conversation with a book, right?", the ginger asked.

Randy rolled his eyes, deciding not to reply to the comment, instead pointing towards Mrs. Driscoll. "I need you to make sure she doesn't see me."

Howard shrugged. "No problem. I mean, no one ever sees you pull a Nomicon. I mean never. It's…actually pretty convenient if you ask me," he said, putting a hand to his chin in thought. Randy just rolled his eyes, before opening the 800-year-old book, before his body fell onto the table.

"Mrs. Driscoll, Randy is sleeping in class!" Doug yelled.

"Dang it, Doug! Can't you stay quiet for once!", Howard exclaimed.

"Mr. Cunningham! I will not tolerate sleeping in my class!" Randy didn't stir at all. "Mr. Cunningham!" Mrs. Driscoll said again, starting to walk over. Howard gulped, looking down at his best friend's body before looking back at the annoyed teacher. This was not good.

 _9:22_

Randy fell through the paper sky at a pace far too fast for his liking. Screaming, he wasn't prepared as he hit something hard. Randy groaned, knowing if he was in his real body, everything would be broke. He swore that that was a bigger fall than his last shloomp.

Standing up, Randy looked around, wondering where the Nomicon put him this time. He saw he was by a lake, a few trees shading the area around it. A dirt path stretched from the shore down through the nearby clearing. In the distance, a large mountain range was seen, a few birds flying through the sky.

Randy looked around, smiling sheepishly. "So, uh, I bet you want to talk about this whole Debbie and Theresa situation, which by the way was not my fault," he said. The sky glowed red, causing him to sigh. "Okay, it was a bit my fault." The sky glowed redder, and started to pulse. Squinting, Randy could see two clouds parting before something fell from where they were touching. Randy stepped back a few feet, realizing the object was heading straight for him. As it hit the dirt, causing a dust cloud to spring up, the sky returned to its usual coloration.

Randy's breath hitched in his throat, his face going white as he felt his legs turn to jelly. In front of him was a man in a suit not unlike his own, although parts of his sleeves showed bare skin, and the scarf was replaced by a headband which flowed in the wind.

"Oh cheese, First Ninja! Oh man, this is bad. This is really bad. You sent the First Ninja here to mind wipe me?!" First Ninja seemed to try to speak, but Randy kept talking. "Look, I'm really sorry here! I didn't know they were listening! And yes, I know that is a terrible excuse, but in my defense-"

"Randall!" First Ninja yelled, surprising Randy as neither he or the Nomicon had called him by his actual name before. The older ninja took a calming breath, before speaking again. "There are much more pressing matters at hand."

Randy blinked. "More pressing matters-what the juice are you talking about?! The girl that revealed I was the Ninja has found out I'm the Ninja again! Plus, Theresa, which is also bad, for different reasons…"

The First Ninja shook his head. "Believe it or not, your classmates are the least of your concerns at the moment," First Ninja said, walking towards the lake.

Randy shook his head, stammering. "Least of my-what are you saying?! I'm just supposed to let Theresa and Debbie know I am the Ninja?! Last time someone found out, I almost lost my mask! Now you're telling me it's okay for people to know?!"

The ancient warrior paused. "Randall, you should be much more concerned with your mask than losing it."

Randy's annoyance once again became anxiety. "Wait, you mean the red to green thing? Yeah, I was going to ask about that, but…I thought the other thing took priority."

First Ninja shook his head, as if he was amused. "You have so much to learn, Randall. Yet there is so little time."

Randy faltered, by this point not even worrying about being mind wiped. He was just really confused. "What are you talking about?"

First Ninja stayed silent for a moment, before he turned, pointing at the mountain that was next to them. "The Sorcerer Balls were flung to the four corners of Norrisville." As he said this, the shadows on the mountain range formed four glowing green balls. "If reunited, the orbs will unleash an evil unseen for 800 years." A hand the grabbed the balls, before the mountain started to glow green. Randy flinched as the glow kept getting brighter, before the mountain began to crack, then exploded.

Dodging a few rocks, Randy turned to look at his predecessor. "Okay, you've told me that, and that's over. Evil Julian is gone, the Sorcerer is no longer a threat, it's all over," the purple haired boy said, trying to hide the undertone of sadness in his voice.

Yet, Randy was surprised as First Ninja shook his head as he sat down by the lake's surface. "No, Randall. It's not over. For your greatest battle is just around the bend."

Randy felt his palms become very clammy. "What do you mean 'greatest battle'?! Are you saying there is a bigger threat out there than the Sorcerer?!"

First Ninja gestured for him to sit, before staring once more at the water's surface. Doing as told, as Randy sat down First Ninja touched the lake, causing the water to ripple. The next thing Randy knew, the lake showed an image of children running and playing in a village wearing robes and kimonos, as the sun shone brightly in the sky. Some people managed their shops, while others stayed in their homes, wanting to be left in peace.

"Long ago, before the there was a need for the Ninja, this world was a place of peace. There was no fear of monsters attacking, no threat of the Sorcerer, only harmony. Yes, there were the common criminals and such, but the world was mostly full of joy and all things good." He sighed. "But of course, nothing can always be so perfect." The ancient ninja touched the water's surface, causing it to change from the peaceful view to one more disturbing. The sky was a mixture of yellow and orange, with islands floating in the air, only a few connecting by stone. An amalgam of creatures moved around, from one with a hand for a face to a giant moth-like creature flying through the expanse.

"The Land of Shadows, a world fueled by chaos. The place our worst nightmares are born, and where this world's problems came from." Randy cocked his brow, still really confused. "These two worlds stayed separate for many years, keeping the forces of good and evil in balance." First Ninja turned to Randy before he continued speaking. "Peace and Chaos are in an eternal battle, Chaos trying to gain dominance so it can destroy everything it touches, while Peace tries to keep Chaos under control to protect the balance."

The water rippled again, the picture turning back to the village scene. "All was well, until it wasn't." Randy had to resist the urge to roll his eyes at the fortune cookie talk. An orange and yellow vortex suddenly appeared in the sky, causing everyone in the vicinity to stop what they were doing. A bird's caw erupted from the portal, followed shortly by a monstrous bird with black feathers and a white beak. Men and women screamed in fear as the creature started destroying homes and abducting helpless citizens.

"The Tengu's mere presence in this world was enough for the scales of fate to tip in Chaos's favor. A beast from the Land of Shadows coming to our world no longer allowed Peace. Every moment was spent trying to avoid the spirit that plagued our land. This occurred for many years, until one day, a group of men bound together to defeat the spirit."

The image once again changed to the inside of a dojo, where nine men stood in a circle in the middle of the room. Light only shone in the center of the room, shadows fading in as the light disappeared. Inside the circle was a stone pedestal, strips of red and black fabric in a pile on top. The men were wearing either red, black, or white kimonos, and their faces were covered by the darkness. "A band of brothers combined all of their power to create a way to stop the Tengu. A form of peace that could defeat this force of chaos." As he talked, the nine men's hands glowed brightly, beams of light hitting the fabric. The light pulsed a few times, before expanding outwards, and now on the pedestal was the Ninja Mask.

The water rippled again, a new scene coming. It showed a picture of the First Ninja and the other eight men fighting the Tengu, the Frist Ninja holding the Eye of Eternity. "Using the Tengu's feathers, we were able to defeat the monster, trapping it in the Eye of Eternity." Randy couldn't tell, but he thought his predecessor was smiling underneath his mask. "And Chaos was gone. Peace had won." The possible smile faded. "But that meant the balance was now tipped in Peace's favor. And that could not be."

The lake water once again became crystal clear, only a few fish being seen. Then, an orange and yellow portal opened over the lake, and out came a glowing green orb. Hearing something behind him, he turned to see a horse darn cart coming down the dirt path, before stopping at the lake's edge. The man steering the horse got off the cart and came in to view, causing Randy's eyes to widen. For the person driving the cart was the Peddler, the Sorcerer's original self.

Randy watched as the man picked up the Chaos Pearl, before his eyes glowed green. Stank began to swirl around his body, the excess crashing into the lake's surface. As the gas subsided, the man with fancy pants was now the green skinned wizard that tormented Norrisville for 800 years. The Sorcerer looked at the lake, seeing his former self sitting on a rock in the Land of Shadows, pleading for help. The Sorcerer simply laughed, before firing stank at the horse, transforming it into a green Pegasus-like creature. Mounting it, Randy could only watch as his greatest foe flew off, ready to start his reign of terror.

Randy shook his head, getting a migraine from all the information he was getting at once. "That's a great history lesson, First Ninja, but what does that have anything to do why my mask is turning green?" Randy expected to turn around to see his predecessor rolling his eyes because the answer was "obvious" but instead was surprised to see he was gone. Looking around for a moment, Randy became confused as First Ninja was no longer in sight.

Before he could have time to question it, however, he saw the water's surface start to float in the air. Looking on, the water began to form letters combining into a phrase. " _Every piece is important in a puzzle_." Randy read out loud. "What the juice is that supposed to mean?!" Instead of getting an answer, he saw the lake form a giant wave, before it crashed into him, returning him to his body.

 _9:31_

"…I told him not to eat it, but he did!" Howard exclaimed, keeling over in laughter. The science class, on the other hand, looked rather sick. Doug's eyes rolled back in his head, before he fell off his chair, unconscious.

Mrs. Driscoll's cheeks bulged a bit, before she regained her composure. "While that was a rather…interesting story, Mr. Weinermann, I fail to see how this explains why Mr. Cunningham is asleep in my class."

Howard's eyes bulged. He was sure that story would make Mrs. Driscoll forget about his sleeping friend. Pausing, he looked around hoping to find some distraction. Mrs. Driscoll narrowed her eyes, and put her fingers over Jerry's sockets to make it seem as if he was glaring. Howard gulped, trying to find an acceptable excuse to no avail. About to give up, he was unprepared as Randy shot up, back in his body. Howard shouted in surprise, falling off his chair.

Mrs. Driscoll crossed her arms, smiling a sarcastic smile. "Ah, Mr. Cunningham. So glad to see you join us." Randy just gaped, eyes wide and vacant. The science teacher cocked her brow, surprised at how her student looked. "Mr. Cunningham, are you alright?" Randy eyes shot toward her, having to just realize someone was talking to him.

Mrs. Driscoll rolled her eyes at the teen's behavior. "Uh, I don't have time for this." She then pointed her fingers at the two boys, though only Howard seemed to be paying attention. "Both of you. Detention after school for one hour." Jerry "spoke" after her. " _You bones are headed to the joint_." The woman and her skeleton then went back to the front of the classroom, continuing her lesson.

Howard gaped, before narrowing his eyes. "Great, Cunningham! Thanks to you, we have detention on the last day of school! What do you have to say for yourself?", he asked, going to glare at his best friends. That is, until he saw his face.

Randy's face was a ghostly pale, with enough sweat dripping down his forehead to fill a bucket. His hands were gripping his science book so tight his knuckles were as white as a sheet. But what caught Howard off guard was what was in his eyes. An emotion he had only seen one or two other times before: fear. Carefully putting his hand on his friend's shoulder, his face showed no more irritation, only concern. "Cunningham?", he asked softly.

"Howard," Randy began, looking the ginger in the eyes. "We have a much bigger problem than detention."

 _9:22_

Doug peeked from behind the corner cautiously, quickly scanning the room for anyone lurking around. Seeing no one, the wimpy teen walked slowly into the commons, looking over his shoulder every few seconds in fear that someone was going to jump on him. As he neared the center of the room though, he rapid breathing slowed and his arms fell down, no longer in a defensive position.

"Ah, get it together Doug," he muttered to himself, glaring at a spot on the yellow jewel that showed his reflection. "What you heard was just in your head. There is no-" Doug cut himself off, his narrowed eyes shooting open as the orb turned from an amber coloring to a bright red.

The nerd tentatively took a step back as it began to glow, red light illuminating the room. The poor boy was frozen in fear, not sure what was happening or what he should do. Yet, he immeadiately realized he should run when that same voice echoed throughout the corridor. " _Power…Need..._ " As Doug made a beeline for the exit, he failed to hear one last word before the room returned to normal.

"… _Nomicon…_ "


	6. Chapter 6

_10:56_

The bell rung, signaling third period classes to start. Coach Green's class walked out of the locker rooms, dressed in NHS t-shirts and gym shorts. Most lined up underneath the basketball hoops, ready for whatever their deranged teacher had planned for the last day of school. Stevens and Julian sat on the bleachers, holding their doctor's notes up for their teacher to see. After a few minutes, the British man walked into the gym, clutching a large burlap sack.

"Sorry I'm late, students. I had to grab some equipment from the hardware store." Students gulped, already not liking where this was going. "Today, I have a very _special_ activity planned that I feel is appropriate for the last day of school." Putting one hand into the bag, what he pulled out made all of the students gasp, Bucky even collapsing from fear. "We will be playing Chainsaws VS Textbooks!", he said as he brandished the chainsaw in his hand. Pradeep joined Bucky on the floor. "The objective is to slice your textbooks midair until they are no more. And the best part is, we will be doing this…" he paused for dramatic effect, before pulling a strip of cloth out of his pocket. "Blindfolded!" Dave never stood a chance.

"Awesome!" Bash exclaimed, before chest bumping Mick.

Coach Green set down the equipment before pulling out a clipboard. "Now I will be partnering you up into pairs, one to throw and one to chop." Pointing his finger at Bucky, he began.

"Hensletter, you're with Alazraqui." Dave and Bucky gave two thumbs up from the floor.

"Fowler, you'll be with Kang." The two girls barely responded, both deep in thought.

"Johnson, you'll be with DiMaggio." Bash and Mick again chest pumped.

"Cunningham, you're with Weinermann." Coach Green expected to hear some form of complaint from Howard for having to do exercise, but was surprised to hear nothing. Looking up from his clipboard, his eyes widened when he realized nether Randy or Howard were lined up. Looking to the bleachers, he only saw Stevens and Julian, who smiled cheerily. "Alright, where are Mr. Cunningham and Mr. Weinermann?"

The students looked around, seeming to just realize the freshmen weren't in the room. After a moment, most of the students shrugged, some not sure and other not caring. Coach Green sighed, rubbing his temple. "Well great, it appears we have to runaways on our hands. I guess I'll have to contact the office, tell them-" He stopped as he saw Debbie rose her hand, calling out to the British man.

"Coach Green, Theresa and I know where Randy and Howard may be. We can go and get them if you want," she said, ignoring the confused look from her best friend.

Coach Green clapped his hands, smiling. "Kang, showing the initiative! That's what I like to see! Quickly, go and get those two before I have to send a disciplinarian after them." Debbie nodded, before she grabbed Theresa's arm, dragging her out the door.

Still grinning, Coach Green then pointed to the bleachers. "Baker!" Julian sat up straight, not expecting to be talked to during gym class. "While the girls are doing that, you go down to the front office and inform them of Cunningham and Weinermann's absences!"

Rising to his feet, Julian walked off, leaving Stevens by himself on the stands. Coach Green turned back to the rest of his class, picking up the chainsaw once again. "Now, who wants to go first." He then scowled as Stevens played the trombone behind him.

 _11:01_

Debbie pulled Theresa out of the gymnasium's doors, before letting her go. Rubbing where the blue-haired girl had her, Theresa looked down at her best friend confused. "Why'd you do that? We don't know where Randy and Howard are."

Debbie smirked. "Well for one, I prefer my head to say _on_ my body…" Theresa shrugged, not arguing with that. "But more importantly, we now can go ask Randy and Howard about everything they know…whoa, that's something I never thought I'd say."

Theresa looked at her friend, a bit confused. "Why? They are going to tell us at lunch?"

"Why wait? We go, find the boys, pick their brains, and get back before lunch," she said, walking ahead.

"What about Coach Green? Won't he notice that we will be gone for an hour and a half?" she asked, pointing at the gym doors.

The junior journalist shrugged. "We'll just tell him that they weren't where they usually hang out, and we checked a few other places. No need to worry about it, Theresa." She said dismissively. Theresa glared a bit, before she grabbed her friend, stopping her.

"Okay, how are not freaking out? You just found out that a guy you called a total loser not three hours ago is the world's greatest hero, and you're behaving like it's no big deal. You barely reacted on the roof and…it's honestly kind of freaking me out how well you're taking all of this."

Debbie sighed. "I don't know, Theresa. I mean, it's not like I'm thrilled a D plus student has the power to destroy all of Norrisville, but…" Debbie trailed off, not really sure how to finish her remark. Theresa waited for a minute, before Debbie finally spoke again. "We're not dead yet."

Theresa sighed, leaning against the lockers. "This is just all way too much. I mean, this is insane." She turned to her best friend, her face a mix of emotions. "Don't you want to talk about this?"

Debbie looked at her, raising her eyebrow. "Do you want to talk about this?"

Theresa cocked her head, confused to be asked the same question she just asked. "What?"

Debbie smiled, almost chuckling in amusement. "I mean, I know you have something you want to talk about." Theresa looked away, rubbing the back of her head sheepishly. Debbie's smile faded a bit, becoming more serious. "What's wrong, Theresa?"

Theresa looked at her friend, before she sighed. Part of her just wanted to say everything was fine, not wanting to talk about it. Yet, seeing the concern in Debbie's eyes, and knowing the short girl would not letting it go until she got her answer, Theresa decided to speak. "He's…the Ninja."

Debbie blinked, putting on one of her rare confused looks. "Yes, he is. Are you upset about that? I thought it would make you happy the guy you have a crush on is such a…hero," Debbie said, cringing a bit as she finished.

Instead of giggling like she thought she would, Theresa sighed. "Yesterday, he was just Randy Cunningham, a normal ninth-grader. But now…" Theresa trailed off, not knowing what to say.

"It's complicated," Debbie supplied, part of her understanding what her friend meant.

Theresa nodded. "I just don't really know how to feel. I mean, Randy Cunningham's the Ninja." She almost laughed at how absurd it sounded to her. "Sure, its super bruce that he is the only guy who can stand up to robots and mosnters, but at the same time…" Theresa turned to look at her friend. "…it's like I barely know him."

Debbie cocked her brow. "What are you saying, Theresa?"

Theresa shrugged, looking just as confused as her friend. "Honestly…I don't know." The two stood in silence for a moment, both collecting their thoughts. Debbie looked as her friend leaned against the wall, appearing forlorn.

She admits that she doesn't consider Randy as her friend; more like acquaintances when there is no one else around. She saw Randy as an idiot who never takes anything seriously, and will probably not amount to anything. It was why it confused Debbie on what her best friend saw in him. Yet, finding out Randy was the Ninja made Debbie realize she may have judged the purple haired teen too quickly. Anyone who was willing to risk their lives every day for people that barely know he exists can't be that bad of a guy, right? Sure, he may still be the same video game playing, gravy fires eating, prank pulling shoob he was yesterday, but Debbie finally realizes what Theresa may see when she looks at Randy.

Putting her hand on her best friend's shoulder, Debbie smiled softly at her friend. "Hey, remember. There's still a lot to be answered. For all we know, this could have been Randy's first day on the job as the Ninja; he may be as clueless as we are."

Theresa giggled a bit, a smile returning to her face. "Yeah, maybe your right." The two girls sat for a minute, regaining their composures. Then, walking down the hall, they decided to do what they were assigned to do. "So, where do you think Randy and Howard are anyway?" Debbie asked, stopping as the hallway became two separate hallways.

Debbie opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted as the two heard a crash from behind them. Looking back, they saw as a blue, spider-like monster wearing a top hat burst through the wall they were just standing by, roaring at nothing. As it collided with the opposite wall, their eyes shot open as they saw the Ninja-er Randy- being pulled along by the monster by his scarf. Debbie rose an eyebrow when she saw that his usually red scarf was now a sickening green color. A moment after the two disappeared, they saw Howard run through the hole in the wall, stopping a minute to pant. Catching his breath, Howard hobbled after his best friend, not noticing Theresa and Debbie watching him. A beat passed, then Theresa looked at a smirking Debbie, mouth agape.

"Found one."

 _10:56_

"We're dead," Howard said, pacing back and forth in the boy's restroom. "We are so honking dead!"

Randy leaned against the wall, hyperventilating. "This is bad. This is really, really bad," he said, face flushed.

Howard stopped, looking at the purple haired teen in a mixture of anxiety and annoyance. "What are you going to do?"

"I don't know what I'm going to do!" he yelled back. Howard groaned, face palming.

"Well you'd better figure something out soon, because I'm not letting my summer be ruined by some ultimate evil!" Turning around, he kicked one of the stall doors, letting it ram into the plastic door. "I just got a new beanbag chair too! Are we going to let my dad's money be in vain?!"

Now it was Randy who face palmed. "Howard, I think we have a much bigger problem than your bean bag chair! This is DEFCON 1 level stuff!" Neither teen heard the bell ring throughout the school, too preoccupied with their freak out.

"No Cunningham, this is way more serious! We are at DEFCON _5_!", Howard said animatedly, waving his hands.

Randy opened his mouth to say something, but paused. Cocking a brow, Randy looked at his friend confused. "What?"

Howard stared at his friend as his he had a second head. "We are at DEFCON 5. That's what you say when something can't get any worse," he repeated.

"No, no. DEFCON _1_ is the worst-case scenario. That's why I said we are at DEFCON 1."

Howard chuckled, seeming to find what his best friend said amusing. "Oh Cunningham. Sweet, naïve, not-too-bright Cunningham." Randy opened his mouth to comment, but wasn't able to as Howard continued. "DEFCON _5_ is the worst. It has the greatest numerical value, and therefore is the greatest threat."

"Ignoring the fact that you used the word numerical correctly, that doesn't make sense. It's like the Top 10 charts. 10 is the worst and 1 is the best." Randy paused. "Though I guess in this case 10 would be the best and 1 would be the worst."

Howard rolled his eyes, continuing to laugh. "Uh huh, sure. Like that makes sense."

"Yes. Yes, it does make sense because…" Randy stopped, before he started shaking his head. "What am I saying?! It doesn't matter what we call it, Howard! We are in a crisis situation!", he said, starting to hyperventilate again.

Howard frowned. He hated seeing his best friend so uneasy. Usually Randy was the guy that calmed him down and kept a level head. Yet, Howard could tell that everything that happened today was really taking its toll on Randy, and he wasn't really helping at the moment. Sighing, Howard placed his hand on his friend's shoulder, calming him down a bit. "Okay, okay sorry. Look, my cousin Darla always told me the best thing to do in a crisis is to assess the situation. That's how she got so good at business," he said. Reaching into his backpack, he pulled out a black McSharpie and walked towards one of the bathroom mirrors.

"Isn't your cousin Darla in prison for running an illegal pyramid scheme?", Randy asked, confused on what his friend was doing.

Waving his hand, Howard dismissed his friend's statement. "She also taught me those kinds of details aren't important. Right now, let's just focus and try to figure everything out before we rush into anything," he said as he drew a bullet point on the mirror.

Randy calmed down a bit, admittedly impressed by his friend's idea. He decided to ignore the mild vandalism they were performing, planning to wash the marker off the mirror when they were done with this. "Okay, that's a good idea. Let's just take this one step at a time." He paused, regaining his composure.

"Well, I think our biggest problem right now is that there apparently is some villain around that is stronger and more dangerous than the Sorcerer." Howard wrote on the mirror ' _Ultimate Evil_ '. "Then there's this whole problem with Theresa and Debbie knowing I'm the Ninja." Howard scribbled it down. "The Ninja Mask changed colors, and the Nomicon says that it didn't do that, so apparently something is messing with my suit." Randy paused, thinking about what else was happening. "The Nomicon was being a lot weirder than usual. It seemed like it or First Ninja didn't care two people found out my secret."

"Don't forget how people are now able to get stanked again," Howard added, putting it on their makeshift white board.

Randy nodded, putting a finger to his chin in thought. "That's true. And…I think that's it." Howard nodded, writing the last word on the mirror. Stepping back, the two boys stared at the mirror for a moment, trying to find some form of connection between the five items. A minute passed until Randy finally spoke. "Do you have any idea how we can solve any of this?"

"None in the slightest," Howard said. Randy groaned, hanging his head. Howard sighed. He was not doing a great job at being emotional support. Still he had to keep trying. "Okay, well what did the Nomicon and First Ninja say?", he asked.

Randy sighed. "Well, first First Ninja gave me the same lecture it did when people were looking for the fourth Power Ball. Then, he told me about how the Ninja Suit was created because of the Tengu. And after he told me how defeating the Tengu actually led to the Sorcerer's creation."

Howard paused. "How does that work?"

Randy shrugged. "Apparently this whole thing with how the Ninja Suit is an object of Peace so there has to be Chaos in the world for balance to exist," he said.

Howard stared at the tall boy blankly for a moment. "Yeah…I have no idea what any of that means. Did it give you it's phrase of the day thing?" the dainty-handed teen asked.

Randy thought for a moment, trying to remember the exact words the Nomicon used. " _Every piece is important in a puzzle_ ," he recited.

Howard clapped his hands grinning. "Alright, that…doesn't help at all!", he yelled throwing his hands in the air, his rage getting the better of him. Randy, however, thought about everything for a minute, gears beginning to turn in his head.

This morning, Randy's biggest problem was feeling like he was no longer needed. Now, he was dealing with so many problems it made his head spin, and he had no idea what to do. He looked down at the Nomicon, hoping it would glow, giving him the answers he needed. Yet, nothing happened. Randy sighed, looking at his list of problems he didn't know how to solve. Randy's instincts told him that making sure his secret is kept safe is his first priority, but after what the Nomicon said, he felt it was the least troubling thing he had to deal with.

Taking his mask out of his jacket, he was annoyed to see it was still green. The Nomicon basically told him that something was seriously wrong with his mask, which is why its coloration changed. He hadn't even tried the suit on since his fight this morning, so he didn't know if there was any damage done to the suit. He didn't know if the suit even worked still. Randy groaned. Honestly, the only thing he knew right now was that he had a major headache. He was aware this is what he wished for, but now that it's happening, Randy wonders if he bit off more than he can chew. After the Sorcerer and Evil Julian were gone, after all, things should have gotten-

Randy stopped, pieces of a puzzle clicking together in his mind. Looking up, he saw little doodles appear in his line of sight. An arrow pointed to where ' _Ultimate Evil_ ' was written, and underneath the words " _Peace VS Chaos_ " were written. ' _Of course_ ', Randy thought. ' _It's so obvious!_ ' "I've got it!" Randy suddenly yelled, surprising Howard.

"What?", he asked, blinking.

"I know who the Ultimate Evil is!", Randy exclaimed, looking pretty proud of himself.

"Really? What is it?" Howard asked.

Randy smirked. "Not what, Howard. Who?" Randy paused for dramatic effect. "It has to be Evil Julian!"

Howard cocked his head to the side, confused. "What are you talking about? Didn't Julian merge with his evil self and lose all his memories of the past 5 months?", the husky teen asked.

"Yes, that did happen. But, maybe there is something more to this than we thought," the purple haired teen began, grabbing the marker from his friend's hand and going to another mirror. "Listen. When Julian split into the two versions of himself, it created Good Julian and Evil Julian." As he talked, Randy drew two stick figures, writing good and evil over them. "And when those two Julians were near each other, they became Whole Julian again." He grew a line from each Julian that met at a third stick figure labeled ' _Whole_ '.

Howard nodded. "Yeah…I think. I honestly have no idea what the juice your talking about," he admitted, shrugging.

Randy groaned. "Just…listen okay. When I went into the Nomicon, First Ninja kept on talking about peace and chaos, and how they have to be balanced at all times. I had no idea what he meant, but now I think I get it. Whole Julian is just a mix of Good Julian and Evil Julian, making him into the creepy goth we know and have class with. Yet, when they merged back into Whole Julian, maybe it just put two minds in one body."

Howard thought for a moment, before his eyes started to widen. "Wait, are you saying that Julian is in some Dr. Hyde/Mr. Jacob monster?", he asked.

Randy grinned. "Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying!", he said.

Howard groaned. "Oh, this is bad! This is really bad!" he said, beginning to pace again.

Randy shook his head, the grin not leaving his face. It kind of freaked Howard out, but he decided not to say anything. "No, dude, this is great! Julian is the guy who is stanking people and is probably the guy who did something to my suit! We know who the Ultimate Evil is, but he doesn't know we know. So right now, we have the element of surprise. The only thing I need to do now is catch Julian off guard so that I can destroy his Power Ball."

Howard stopped, thinking for a moment. "That almost sounds wonk enough to work!"

Randy nodded. "Exactly what I was thinking!"

"But how are you going to get Julian alone so you can ambush him?", Howard asked. Randy opened his mouth to say something, but stopped when he and Howard heard something coming from outside the bathroom.

Opening the door a crack, Howard and Randy peeked into the hallway to see what was that noise. Their eyes widened as they saw Julian walk down the hallway, whistling some song fairly loudly. As the goth passed by, turning into another hallway, Randy couldn't help his smirk. "By following him right now!" he said.

Taking his Ninja Mask back out, he put it on, becoming the Norrisville Ninja. Randy internally cheered that the Ninja suit still worked and nothing seemed out of the ordinary, but knew he had more pressing matters to attend to.

Howard grinned, before his eyes widen at what he saw. Like the mask, every part of his suit that was normally red was now green. Randy, however, didn't seem to notice. Instead, he pulled a ball throwing it on the ground. "Smokebomb!", he said, disappearing in a green puff of smoke. Howard coughed, waving his hand to clear the air a bit. Opening the bathroom door to breathe, his eyes widened as he saw Flute Girl staring at him with her brow cocked.

Staring for a moment, Howard suddenly started to chuckle. "Ooohhhhh, shouldn't have had that second breakfast burrito this morning. Am I right?" The band member stayed still for a minute before she groaned.

"You're an idiot," she said, walking away. Howard continued to chuckle until he no longer could see the rude girl in sight. Getting serious, he ran off to find his friend, knowing that he needed to know what was happening with his suit.


	7. Chapter 7

_11:07_

Julian could say he was having a fairly nice day so far. His parents had made him his favorite bat shaped blueberry pancakes, he felt he did well on his math exam, and he was able to avoid the dreaded activity provided by his physical education teacher. While it seemed ruined when his friend became a monster and going missing earlier, he was thankful she returned a few minutes later no worse for wear. Now there was only one more class until the beginning of summer vacation, and he couldn't wait.

He did feel somewhat guilty on what he was doing to Randy and However, however. As he strolled towards the administrative office, he couldn't help feeling bad that his teacher had chosen him to tell the office the students were skipping class. As he walked down each hallway, he kept his eyes opened to see if he could spot the two boys somewhere before he had to report them, yet had no such luck. He could only hope they had a good reason for being truant.

Julian wouldn't let this ruin his good day, though. For five weeks, all he had dealt with was cold stares from his peers and weekly visits with a therapist in town. He still doesn't remember what happened since his birthday, but he could tell from how his peers treated him that he did something bad. The only things people let him know was that he disappeared for a while and he had fought the Ninja. How he survived that encounter, he had no idea.

So, it felt freeing that in a few short hours he would be free from the people shunning him and would have some time to figure out what went wrong and how he could amend his mistakes. Walking through the commons, he could see the doorway leading to the front office. Ignoring the guilt he felt for having to rat out his friends, he never noticed the dark figure on the roof.

He only noticed something was amiss when he heard a voice yell "Ninja-Bola!". Before he could react, he felt his legs come together, making him lose his balance and land on top of the fish mural. Groaning, he lifted himself up by his arms, trying to find out what hit him. His eyes widened when he saw a green rope with two black weights wrapped around his ankles.

"Smokebomb!", Julian heard from in front of him. Coughing from the sudden smoke he inhaled, his felt his widen as the Norrisville Ninja now stood in front. "Julian. We need to talk."

"Ninja!", he exclaimed surprised. "What are you doing here?" His open mouth was replaced by a cocked brow. "Uh, what's with the new color scheme?"

The Ninja looked surprised at that statement. Looking down, Julian saw the Ninja's eyes widen as he looked as his hands, then his feet, and finally his scarf, before he glowered at the teen. "Cut the act, Julian. Or should I say Evil Julian?"

Julian blinked, confused. "Evil?", he asked.

The Ninja rolled his eyes. He then bent down, pulling the goth up by his shirt. "Yes, Evil! I know that you're still there Evil Julian, and whatever you did to my suit, I want fixed!" Julian winced at the Ninja's tone, becoming a bit more confused with each word.

"I'm sorry, Ninja, but you have the wrong person! I didn't do anything to your suit! But might I say green looks quite nice on you," the goth said, hoping a compliment would convince the Ninja to let him go. No such luck.

"I'm not in the mood, Evil Julian! Give me the Power Ball! It's for the best!", the Ninja said, ignoring what the boy had said.

Julian gulped. He didn't understand what was happening, but it seemed the Ninja was pretty annoyed with him. He wondered if this had something to do with those few months, but had no proof. All he knew was that seeing the most powerful person in Norrisville getting mad at him made him feel so small. He winced as the masked man's grip on his shirt tightened. He didn't remember the last time he was this afraid.

"Give me the ball!", the Ninja shouted again.

"I don't know what you're talking about!", Julian shouted back, feeling tears prick at the corners of his eyes. He felt the grip on his shirt loosen a bit, but didn't care. He just wanted to be let go.

 _11:09_

The sadness. The desperation. The _fear_. A number of negative emotions coming together to make something truly miserable. How delightful. And luckily it was in the nearby area. Seems like it was finally time.

The Eye of Eternity once again switched from its amber yellow coloring to the olive green, glowing brightly. Stank started to seep out, swirling in a vortex before going to its intended target. Laughter once again filled the corridor, not aware of who was in the room at the time.

 _11:07_

Randy didn't particularly feel good at what he just did, but knew it was necessary. He needed to get the ball from Julian while he had the upper hand. Still, it didn't make him happy as his friend flopped onto the fish mural because of the bola he threw. Taking a breath, Randy threw a ball down, watching as smoke surrounded him.

"Smokebomb!", he yelled, now standing in front of the goth. He stood above the teen, hoping to look threatening. He wasn't sure if this was Good Julian or Evil Julian, so he stayed cautious of whatever the boy would do. As Julian stopped coughing and realized who was standing in front of him, Randy knew it was time to start. "Julian, we need to talk," he said, trying to sound as serious as possible.

"Ninja!", the goth exclaimed. "What are you doing here?" Randy was about to say something but was confused when Julian's face suddenly changed from shocked to confused. "Uh, what's with the new color scheme?", he asked.

Randy cocked a brow, not sure what Julian meant by that. Looking at his hands, Randy felt his eyes widen when he saw, like his mask, the red part of the suit became green. Looking himself over, he saw the same thing was true for his legs and scarf. Randy looked back at Julian, now really annoyed. Randy wasn't sure what was happening to his suit, but apparently it wasn't good. He hadn't even noticed anything was wrong until Julian pointed it out. Who knew what could be happening to it or him right now.

Randy internally groaned. This whole day was just one stressful situation on top of another, and the Ninja could feel himself breaking underneath. And hearing Julian mock Randy for something he did just put more pressure on him. He knew the only way he was going to fix any of this was to get that Power Ball away from his friend before he could hurt anyone else. Glaring at the goth, Randy decided he needed to get the teen to talk. "Cut the act, Julian. Or should I say Evil Julian?"

Randy planned for the teen to then start smirking and chuckling, confirming Randy's theory that he was the one behind everything that was happening today. Instead, he was surprised when the boy blinked, looking really confused at what the Ninja had just said. "Evil?", he asked.

Randy rolled his eyes. So Evil Julian wanted to do this the hard way? " _Fine by me_ ", Randy thought. He then picked the boy up by his t-shirt, hoping to frighten him into telling him what was happening. When that didn't work, he started to talk again. "Yes, Evil! I know that you're still there Evil Julian, and whatever you did to my suit, I want fixed!" Randy failed to notice the goth wince, his eyes reflecting confusion and fear.

"I'm sorry, Ninja, but you have the wrong person! I didn't do anything to your suit! But might I say green looks quite nice on you," Julian said. Randy decided to ignore that…whatever that was, in favor of getting some answers.

"I'm not in the mood, Evil Julian! Give me the Power Ball! It's for the best!", he yelled, tightening his grip on the boy's shirt. When he stayed silent, Randy yelled once more. "Give me the ball!"

"I don't know what you're talking about!", Julian screamed. Randy loosened his grip, surprised by the sheer terror come from the goth's voice. Something wasn't right. In all of the battles he had fought against Julian, the boy never showed fear nor ran away from a fight until he had what he wanted or was defeated. If Evil Julian was there, he would have retaliated by now. Yet, Randy didn't see any mal intent on the young boy's face, only terror, something he had never seen on his enemy. It was almost like Evil Julian wasn't even…

" _Oh boy_ ," Randy thought, realizing what he did wrong. There was no longer any Good Julian or Evil Julian, only Whole Julian. Which meant he was currently threatening an innocent teen for no good reason. Gulping, Randy was about to put the boy down and spew out a number of apologies when something terrifying happened.

Below them, the Eye of Eternity glowed, turning from yellow to green. The same green that was on Randy's suit. Randy stared wide eyed out at the phenomenon, dropping Julian in shock. As Julian hit the ground, a familiar green gas started to come out of the stone, swirling around the two high schoolers. Julian, not noticing the stank, gasped as some went into his nose and he started to transform. His back arched as his skin turned blue. His legs stretched out as his fingers and toes became claws. His hunched over, his stomach inflating as his torso grew. His eyes, now yellow, bugged out of his head. Looking around, the stanked boy opened his mouth and let out a blood curdling roar.

Randy would have tried to calm the goth down if something weirder wasn't happening to him. When the chaotic magic was first released, the green parts of Randy's suit began to glow. The stank that did not enter Julian started to move around Randy's feet, becoming a sort of green fog. As the Julian transformed, the fog expanded. And as the fog expanded, the brighter Randy's suit glowed. By the time Julian roared, the glow was so bright that Randy had to close his eyes.

As the light behind his eyelids faded, he was unprepared as Julian used his newfound strength to toss the Ninja across the room. Slamming into the opposing wall, Randy opened his eyes with a pained groan, only for then to shoot wide open. While Julian was running amuck in the room, the green fog had expanded greatly, now covering up most of the floor. In the center, he could see the green glow coming from the Eye of Eternity. Randy could also hear some sort of distorted laughter over his beating heart.

Randy was so transfixed by the strange sight he didn't hear his red-headed friend running up to him. Howard stood there for a second, catching his breath from running around the school looking for the hero. Not yet noticing the commons, he looked at his friend, confused why he was just staring straight ahead. "Ninja!", he said, panting. That snapped him out of it.

"Howard, we have a huge problem," he mumbled, eyes not leaving the room.

"What the juice are you talking about?", Howard asked. Randy simply rose his arm, pointing lifelessly in front of him. Cocking his brow, Howard turned to the commons and felt his jaw drop at what was happening in the room. "Whoa…how'd I miss that?"

"Howard," Randy said, getting the larger boy's attention. "I don't think Julian is what the Nomicon was warning us about."

"…well shoob me sideways." Julian let out another roar, snapping the boys back to attention, and began to run towards them. "Uh, Ninja, it might be time to destank this guy!", Howard yelled, being the first to see him coming. Shaking off his bewilderment, Randy decided that he can worry about the fog in a minute. Right now, he had a spider to squash.

Reaching for his sword, Randy sprinted towards Julian, preparing to do a quick slice to his hat. "Ninja-Sli-What the juice?!" As Randy removed the blade from the suit, something bad happened. The green on the sword seem to expand outwards until it covered the entire weapon. Cracks started to form on the sword, and in a matter of seconds, the Ninja's most powerful weapon was reduced to a pile of ash.

Stopping to stare at the pile, Randy barley dodged a swing from Julian. "Uh, okay. That's a problem…" The stanked teen then looked back at Randy, before turning around and firing a web at the Ninja. Thinking fast, Randy pulled two red-orange balls from his suit, throwing them in the air. "Ninja-Hot-are you kidding me?!" As the balls left his hand, they also crumpled in mid-air, becoming nothing but ash. Stunned by what happened, Randy was unable to dodge the silky trap, the force pinning him under it on the wall.

Randy ignored the pain that flared up, instead panicking at what was happening. Trying to use his weapons once again to get out of his predicament, he pulled out his sais. "Ninja-Sais!" They crumpled before they touched the web. "Uh, Ninja-Chainsicle!" It became ash. "Ninja-Ring?" Nothing. "Ninja-Cold-Ball?" Ash. "Ninja-Accordion?" No notes were played. "Okay, I think I'm detecting a pattern here."

"Yo, Ninja!", Howard called from the other side of the room. "What's taking so long?"

"None of my weapons are working! They all keep falling apart!", Randy yelled back.

"That's not good!" Randy had to roll his eyes at his friend's obvious statement. Before he could yell anything back, he once again heard Julian roar before sprinting in a direction. Except this time, he was sprinting away from the fight. Thinking fast, Randy threw his scarf at the spider monster, latching on.

"Ninja-Monster-Grab!", he yelled as the force pulled him out of the webbing. Flying forward, Randy landed onto of the monster's back. "Well, at least the scarf still works," he said before being cut off guard as Julian continued to run. Eyes widening, Randy was unprepared as the spider monster barged into a wall, knocking him off. Hitting the floor, Randy continued to hold onto the monster by his scarf before being pulled along, thrashing like a ragdoll in the air.

Breaking down another wall, Randy saw that the two had exited the building, now outside by the Tilt-A-Whirl and Ferris Wheel. Letting go of the monster's leg, Randy landed feet first on the grass, before moving his hands in a graceful manner. "Ninja-Air-Fist!", he sounded, yet nothing happened. Randy's battle pose became one of shock as he stared at the open air in front of him. "Really?! That won't work either?!" He then preceded to grab the suit's fabric in annoyance, trying to find something he can use. "What is wrong with my suit?!"

Hearing something collapse in front of him, Randy was reminded that he currently had a teen to destank. Looking around for anything that he could use, Randy's eyes landed on the Tilt-A-Whirl as little doodles began to surround it. Getting an idea, Randy sprinted towards the goth monster, who was currently trying to eat a carnival tent.

"Ninja-Julian-Grab!", Randy yelled, wrapping his scarf around the stanked teen's legs. Pulling hard, the spideresque monster's legs slammed together, knocking him off balance. Running over, Randy used the suit's strength to pick the monster up and tried to toss him into the ride. Yet as Randy lifted Julian into the air, he began to feel his suit's strength fade drastically. His arms trembled under the monster's weight, his forehead starting to sweat. Knowing it was now or never, Randy used all of his remaining strength to chuck Julian onto the Tilt-A-Whirl, barely reaching the ride.

The Ninja fell onto his knees in exhaustion, feeling the last of his superhuman strength leave him. Wiping the sweat from his brow, he grabbed his scarf and threw it at the control panel near the Tilt-A-Whirl. "Ninja-Tilt-A-Whirl-Turn-On," he said as his scarf hit the conveniently labeled 'Start' button.

Julian's eyes widened as the ride kicked on, spinning him around so fast he was pinned to the wall by the centripetal force. Moving so fast that he couldn't move his limbs and could feel his stomach squishing his pancreas, he didn't notice as the wind blew his hat off his head, flying out of the ride. Randy looked up from the grass and, noticing the top hat, watched it fly around the ride for a minute before going underneath. A few seconds later, purple pieces of fabric flew from the gears, green gas following. The ride stopping, the now normal Julian stumbled out, before running into the bushes to lose his lunch.

Randy got onto his knee, regaining his breath. Pushing himself to his feet, he stumbled a few times from exhaustion before walking over the sick goth. "There, there," the Ninja said, patting the hoarking boy on the back. He was met with a series of shnasty noises. "Let it out. Just let it out." Randy paused, before speaking again. "I'm sorry for accusing you of being evil and trying to kill me. That wasn't cool. I promise it won't happen again. So…are we good?" Julian gave the Ninja a thumbs up, before throwing up a bit more. "Okay, that's good. Well…this is weird, so I'm just going to…go now. Have fun…I guess." With one last pat, Randy backed away from the teen, before running behind one of the carnival tents.

Taking a breath behind the tent, Randy saw Howard run towards him from the corner of his eye. Taking off the mas, Randy leaned against the tent pole, even more exhausted without the suit's magic. "Cunningham," Howard said as he arrived before pausing and looking over his friend. "What the juice happened to you?"

"The suit. I don't know how, but my suit isn't working! I can't use my weapons, I can't use my magic, I can't even use my strength!", Randy said, trying his best not to hyperventilate.

"What?!", Howard yelled back, his mind not able to think of anything other than that one word.

"I don't know what's happening man! I thought it was just Julian messing with us again, but this seems so much bigger! I mean, did you see the commons! It looked like honking horror movie in there! This is bad, like really bad. Like super-" Randy was cut off as Howard slapped his best friend in the face. Randy stood shocked for a minute, before putting on a calmer expression. Thank you, I needed that. I-" He was cut off again when Howard slapped him again. "Ow! What was that for?"

Howard shrugged, chuckling. "It was fun the first time." Randy just gave the teen a deadpan look.

"Look, we have to get back to the commons. I don't know what was happening in there, but I think that's where we'll find our Ultimate Evil. Let's go!" The two boys turned to head back to the heart of the school, but paused when they saw two familiar teenage girls blocking their paths.

"Uh, speaking of 'Ultimate Evil'," Howard muttered, referring to Debbie. Randy didn't pay him any mind, instead smiling sheepishly at the two girls.

"Theresa! Debbie! What an…unexpected surprise! D-do you guys hang out behind this tent too?" The girls gave the purple haired boy deadpan looks, not amused by how he was trying to change the topic. "You, uh, you didn't happen to hear what Howard and I were talking about, did you?" Through his cheery tone everyone could hear him silent pleading they weren't there for more than a few seconds. Unfortunately, it looked like fate wasn't Randy's best friend today.

Debbie smirked, slowly nodding, while Theresa looked away a bit, shyly. Randy deflated a bit, a groan escaping his lips. "Oh boy."

"You really have to work on talking about Ninja stuff in public, Randy. I mean, a few more of your meetings and I'll have enough for a whole week of headliners," Debbie said smugly, causing Randy to slouch down a bit more. Debbie's smug face became a bit more serious, before pointing to the hole in the wall. "Now, let's get to the editorial room. You guys seem like you have quite the story to tell."

Randy immediately shot up straight, sharing a panicked look with Howard. "Uh, we would, but we…have to gym class. Yeah, you know get in that physical fitness. So we better get go-" Randy said as he and Howard tried to walk away, only to be pushed back by the short girl, Theresa acting as an extra line of defense.

"No you don't. We had a deal. You tell us everything or I tell Norrisville you're the Ninja," Debbie said, crossing his arms.

Randy chuckled sheepishly, trying to look away from the girl's piercing glare. "Yeah, yeah we did make that deal. But, uh, we also said that I didn't have to do that until lunch, and well it's still third period. So, looks like we'll have to wait-" Randy was starting to get annoyed of getting cut off. Yet he was more annoyed as suddenly felt liquid splash him in the face. Looking down at the now empty carton of milk lying on the grass, he stared incredulously at Debbie. "Did you just throw a carton of milk at me?", he asked disbelievingly.

Debbie nodded once, smirking. "There, you have your lunch. Now, editorial room." Randy opened his mouth to say something else, but once he saw the look on the blue-haired girl's face he realized he would be safer staying quiet. Grumbling a bit, Randy walked towards the hole in the wall, followed by a ginger barely stifling a laugh.

The two girls stood for a moment before Theresa turned to Debbie. "Where did you get that milk?" Debbie just rolled her eyes, before following the boys to hear a very interesting story.

 _11:23_

The stank in the commons began to retreat back to the center of the room, an angry caw heard throughout the room. As the stank seeped back into the stone, cracks began to form on the surface, small pieces breaking off and falling on the ground.

The dark shadow on the wall started to disappear as the green coloring of the stone turned back to amber yellow. As all the stank left the room, a dark voice echoed through the corridor. " _Power…Freedom…One,_ " it spoke, as the remaining shadow blended back into the floor, and everything was normal.


	8. Chapter 8

_11:20_

Four sets of eyes stared at each other around the room, each showing a different set of emotions. One pair showed fear and anxiety as the eyes darted to look anywhere else in the room besides another set of eyes. Another also showed anxiety, though they also held some annoyance, the pair rolling every once in a while because of some of the other looks. Another pair was steeled on the anxious pair of eyes, not once blinking. The last pair just showed confusion, as the eyes looked around, waiting for someone to talk.

This went on for about five minutes, until finally Howard had enough. "Oh my cheese, can someone say _something_?!", he exclaimed, startling the three other people in the room. Debbie was the first to regain her composure, again staring at Randy with a smirk on her face.

"Yes, Randy. I believe that _someone_ should say something, don't you think?", she asked, making Randy shrink back in his seat a bit. "Perhaps someone has some kind of story to tell?"

"Uh, well, let's see. Oh, when I was four I was at the zoo, and there was this really big warthog that kept eyeing a bag of peanuts-" Randy said, but stopped talking when Debbie began to chuckle.

The blue haired girl waved her hand dismissively, the chuckle dying down. "Sorry, sorry about that Randy; I didn't mean to cut you off. I just thought of a funny headline for the NHGTTWDPC online edition. ' _Ninja Blows Identity Due to Not Answering Questions_ '." Debbie chuckled again, though this one was obviously fake. "Funny, isn't it?"

"Hilarious," Randy deadpanned, glaring at the smirking girl. The way he saw it, he had two options: tell the two everything and hope they kept their word, or stay silent and let Debbie tell the whole town he was the Ninja. He could already dread that conversation with his mom.

Randy sighed, glancing down at his jacket where he kept the Nomicon, which did not go unnoticed by the other people in the room. He had hoped the book would have helped him out somehow, but it seemed like it didn't even care that two people knew his secret. It seemed like Randy was on his own for this one.

"What was that?", Debbie asked.

Randy looked up, now realizing he wasn't as subtle as he thought he was. "What was what?", he asked, feigning innocently.

Debbie rolled her eyes, her annoyance really starting to show. "That look you gave your jacket. What was that?", she asked again.

Randy sighed, knowing what he was about to do was not going to be easy. "Okay, you want to know my story?" This question admittedly caught Howard, Theresa and Debbie off guard, as they expected him to dance around the subject for much longer. Yet everyone in the room almost gasped in surprise at what the purple haired boy said next. "Then ask away." While Theresa still looked a bit confused about everything that happened today, Debbie smirked, finally having Randy right where she wanted him. Howard on the other hand looked about ready to pass out from what his friend said.

"Cunningham, what are you doing?!", Howard asked. Randy looked up to give the orange-haired boy a defeated look, but was unable as Debbie began to speak again.

"Glad to see you've come to your senses, Randy," she said. Randy frowned, really getting tired of her smug attitude. Taking out a notepad and pencil, the girl got a bit more comfortable behind her desk before turning back to the other three people in the room. "Okay first question: how are you the Ninja?"

Randy sighed, expecting the straight-to-the-point question. "During the last week of summer, I found a box in my room. I don't know how it got there, but in it was the Ninja Mask." As he talked he pulled out said mask, laying it on his lap. "As I later found out, the Ninja hasn't always stayed the same person. Every four years, the Ninja Mask is passed on to a freshman to fight the forces of evil, and after they graduate they get mind wiped and the mask goes to the next person."

"So wait, you aren't 800-years-old?", Theresa asked.

Randy shook his head. "No, I'm still 15." Debbie was the only one to notice Theresa smile a bit once she heard that. The editor then cleared her throat, attracting attention back to her before she spoke.

"So wait, you're telling us that out of everyone in our grade, you were chosen to have the greatest power in the world?", Debbie asked, voice of weird mixture of confusion, suspicion, and annoyance. "You? Randy Cunningham?"

Randy glared, not appreciating the junior journalist's tone. "Yes, I was. Is that so hard to believe?"

Debbie glared a back at the purple haired boy. "Well, I just find it hard to believe that a straight D student was somehow chosen to be a superhero out of say, I don't know…someone with an IQ over 18."

Randy had to hold back the insult threatening to come out of his mouth, not wanting to upset the one person who would reveal his secret without blinking an eye. Instead, deepening his glare at the girl, he spoke heatedly through clenched teeth. "Next question."

Debbie opened her mouth to ask another question, but was beat to it by Theresa. "Okay, I have one. What was with the green guy under the school?"

Randy winced, not expecting that question to come up so soon. "Tick tock, Cunningham," Debbie said, not-so-subtlety reminding Randy on what was at stake.

Randy sighed, knowing he had to give in. "He called himself The Sorcerer."

"Scary name for a scary guy," Debbie said. Randy resisted the urge to roll his eyes.

"Yeah, sure. Anyway, he was the Norisu Nine's greatest enemy. He had these orbs, his Power Balls as I call them, that gave him his powers."

"You mean how he turned people into monsters?", Theresa asked.

Randy nodded. "Yeah, his main power was to stank people, turning them into monsters. Honestly, I have no idea how it works, but I do know it only worked when people were feeling negative emotions or something like that."

"What else can you tell us about these 'Power Balls?'", Debbie asked. By now, her animosity for Randy was set aside as her curiosity made her wonder about the mechanics involved in this 'Sorcerer's' powers.

Randy looked up from the ground, surprised by that question. "Uh…well, I know it is fueled by chaos." He then paused to think. "Oh, and that it corrupts whoever touches it, unless their will is strong. But, besides that…not much." Randy had to admit that that explanation had been pretty bad. Apparently, Debbie and Theresa thought so as well.

"Wait, Power Balls," Theresa said after a minute, something clicking in her head. "Was that the thing you gave Julian at his birthday party?"

Randy winced again, knowing that wasn't his proudest moment. Yet that wince was all the answer the girls needed. Theresa winced a bit as well, while Debbie double face-palmed. "Do you mean to tell us that you gave a 15-year-old boy a ball of evil magic for his birthday?", Debbie said, part of her not even surprised anymore.

Randy gulped. "Well, to be fair, I never _gave_ him the ball. He took it from my bag at the party."

Debbie rose an eyebrow. "Why did you have the ball with you in the first place?", she asked.

Randy resisted the urge to face palm at that. "That's…not important."

"He thought it was going to be eaten by a crocodile and a raccoon," Howard said, only a little humor in his voice. Randy was met by two deadpan looks.

Randy gave his friend a disbelieving look, before turning back to the girls. "Okay, that is not what happened. It's just that…the ball was super important and…so many variables…" Randy paused for a second, not sure what to say, before speaking the first thing to come to his mind. "Look, the raccoon population in my neighborhood is incredibly high, okay!" He made a mental note to face palm later.

Debbie opened her mouth to say something, but immediately closed it. " _Not worth it_ ," she thought. "Okay then, next question." This went on for a while. Both girls asked a plethora of questions, and Randy had no choice but to answer them. He explained the history of the Norisu Nine and the powers of the Ninja Suit. He told them about all the enemies he faced, what they wanted, and how he beat them. He told them of all the adventures he had the past year, from the Krackenstein all the way to defeating Evil Julian and the Sorcerer; Randy had to admit if the situation wasn't so dire he would have laughed at Debbie Kang's face when he told them about when he time travelled. Randy tried his best to keep some facts secret, but due to Debbie's specific questions, there wasn't much they didn't know.

After about an hour of explaining and learning the freshman's story, everyone in the room looked like they were about to collapse form either exhaustion, anxiety, or shock. Theresa's head rested in her hands, not sure how to deal with all of this information. Debbie looked similar to her friend, though there was still that twinkle in her eye that said she still had more questions to ask. Randy looked emotionally drained, not sure of what was going to happen now that he had told Theresa and Debbie essentially everything he knew about the Norrisville Ninja. Howard laid on the floor, tired, but worry for his best friend still showed on his face.

"Okay," Debbie said, breaking the silence. "I think I only have one more question." Randy sighed, relieved this was about to all be over. That was until he heard the blunette's question. "What were you and Howard talking about behind that tent?"

Randy immediately tensed. He had hoped that maybe they had forgotten about that, but apparently his "good" luck continued. Randy was tempted to lie, knowing this secret was particularly dangerous. As he looked at the two girls, he flinched a bit at Debbie's harsh glare, almost daring him to lie. Yet he was more focused on the baton twirler next to her, and the sad look in her eyes. For some reason, that look seemed to do more damage than the junior journalist's glower. When she saw Randy looking at her, Theresa gave the boy a small smile, a little twinkle appearing in her eye. Randy sighed, realizing what he had to do. "I…don't really know."

Debbie and Theresa looked somewhat confused at that statement, but what really surprised them was how Randy said it. He sounded so…lost. Something that they had never heard from the purple-haired boy. Even Howard was a little off-put, his scowl melting away a little. No one saying anything, Randy decided to continue. "It all started after I destanked Theresa earlier. Howard and I were panicking on the roof, and then the Nomicon fell out of my jacket-"

"Nomicon?", Debbie asked, interrupting Randy.

Randy blinked, confused what she was asking, before he realized he hadn't told them about the Nomicon until that moment. He internally slapped himself for telling them before reaching into his jacket and putting the ancient book on Debbie's desk. "This is the Ninja Nomicon." Both girls stared down at the book, not really sure what they were looking at. "It is the combined knowledge of every Ninja, used to choose the next Ninja and train them to fight evil."

Debbie then looked up to look at Randy. "Wait, this is the thing that chose you to be the Ninja?", she asked. Randy nodded hesitantly. Debbie then looked back at the book, her interested stare now an annoyed glare. "Book, you and I have a lot we need to talk about."

Randy rolled his eyes at that. "The Ninja Nomicon is more than just a book Debbie. It taught me everything I know." His look got a bit melancholier before he spoke again. "I don't know what I would be without it's help."

Theresa smiled a small smile, while Debbie rolled her eyes. "Whatever, Cunningham. Just finish your story."

Randy had to hold back the language threatening to spew from his lips, instead opting to continue talking about today's events. "Anyway, I thought I was going to be in trouble for letting you two know about my secret, but it didn't do anything. Then suddenly, my mask's red lines became green. I was freaking out, until science class when the Nomicon started glowing and-"

"Geez Randy, we don't need every little detail! Just give us the specifics," Debbie said sighing.

Randy dug his fingernails into his chair, really getting tired of Debbie's behavior towards him. Glaring, he took a deep breath before speaking again. "We are probably all going to die."

All was silent for a minute, the two girls faced no longer having any emotion. The clock on the wall ticked, seeimg to echo around the room until it was deafening. Tick, tock. Tick, tock. Tick- "WHAT?!", Debbie finally yelled.

Randy wanted nothing more to smirk, seeing the normally calm, collected girl lose her composure, but knew it wasn't the time. "Oh, now you want to know the details?"

Debbie jumped over her desk, beginning to shake the Norrisville Ninja by his shoulders. "What are you talking about?!" she asked. Randy tried to say something, but it was too garbled to understand as a result to Debbie's shaking.

"Debbie, stop." The blunette stopped, not because of how loud the voice was, but because of how soft it sounded. Letting Randy go, the two looked behind them to see Theresa sitting completely still. Her eyes were not glossed over with tears, her face was not red with anger, her form was not even trembling a bit. She just stood still, stone-faced and motionless. "Let Randy explain."

Randy gulped, not understanding what his crush was doing. He expected some reaction out of everyone in the room, but she almost seemed unaffected by what Randy had said. Giving the girl a concerned look, only to become more worried as she didn't give him any a look to show she was okay. "Thanks Theresa," he said, deciding to talk to the baton twirler later to make sure she was okay.

Taking a breath, Randy continued speaking. "Look, I barely know anything; the Nomicon has a really bad habit of saying everything in a sort of fortune cookie talk. Only thing I know for certain is that there apparently is an 'Ultimate Evil' in Norrisville. Something stronger than I have ever faced."

Debbie, who had calmed down a considerable amount, took a breath. "Do you have any idea who this 'Ultimate Evil' is?", she asked in a shaky voice.

Randy shook his head. "No. I thought it was Julian for a bit-"

"Julian? Is that because of how a few weeks ago he went crazy?", Debbie asked.

"For cheese sakes Debbie, can I say one sentence without you cutting me off?!", Randy yelled, losing his cool for a moment. Everyone in the room seemed shocked that Randy yelled at Debbie, and the blunette took a step back on instinct from the volume. Theresa's eyes widened a tiny bit, though she still kept her composure. Howard also looked taken aback, almost never seeing his friend get angry, let alone yell at someone. But when Randy saw Debbie's startled expression, he sighed in regret. "Sorry. It's just been a really long day."

Debbie nodded, still a bit surprised. "It's cool."

Randy gave her an apologetic look before sighing again. "Okay, as I was saying I thought it was Julian for a bit, so I went to confront him and…it didn't really end well." Randy paused, thinking about what he wanted to say next. "I may have…accidently…harassed Julian and turned him into a monster." The purple haired boy held up a hand before anyone could say anything. "Look, I feel bad enough about it as it is, so can we please just let it go. I apologized, and he forgave me." Randy thankfully didn't notice Debbie closing her mouth.

"So then, now what?", Theresa asked from her seat after a moment. "Do you have any other ideas about who the 'Ultimate Evil' is?"

Randy shook his head. "No, I have no idea." Both girls seemed to deflate a bit when they heard this. "But I may know where they are." That definitely got everyone's attention.

"What how?" Debbie asked.

"When I was…confronting Julian, when he turned into a monster, all of the stank started to come from out of the Tengu Stone. I couldn't see much, because that's when my suit started to start acting weird, but I did see the stone turn green. Then next thing I know, the whole room is covered in stank and my suit's powers aren't working."

"Do you think that the Ultimate Evil is using the stone to turn people into monsters?" Theresa asked, her stone face softening a bit, though still too calm for Randy's liking.

"I don't know. I have never seen anything like this before." Randy then sighed. He was really getting tired of sighing. "I just have no idea what to…" Randy began trailing off as he saw a red glow in front of him. Taking the Nomicon off the desk, he had to admit he was confused. When Randy had a problem, he was shloomped in, was told some cryptic message, and later figured out what it meant later in the day. However, the book never brought him back in more than once a day. Usually he would say this couldn't be good, but with how today has been going…

"Uh, Randy. What's your book doing?", Debbie asked, unintentionally taking a step back in case something bad happened.

"Uh…", Randy began. "It wants me to shloomp in."

"Shloomp?", the blunette asked, but her voice fell on deaf ears.

"Okay, listen. I'm going to be gone for a few minutes. You guys just stay here and wait for me." Howard gave a mock salute while Theresa and Debbie still looked confused.

"Where are you going?", Theresa asked.

A small smile came to Randy's face as he opened the book somewhat dramatically. "Into the Nomicon!" He braced himself to fall down, hoping his body didn't get injured if he fell. But, after a moment of realization that he was not falling, Randy opened his eyes to see where he was. Imagine his surprise when he still saw Debbie, Theresa and Howard staring at him confused.

"Uh, what's supposed to be happening?", Theresa asked.

Randy shook his head, confused. He should be somewhere in his book right now, either being taught or being reamed out. Yet, it seemed like something went wrong. Randy looked the book over, checking to see if he could tell what was wrong. Yet as he brought it to his eye, the Nomicon flashed red again, blinding Randy.

Surprised by the sudden burst of light, Randy dropped the Nomicon, which landed back on Debbie's desk. As soon as it landed, the book sprung open, the red glow intensifying. Everyone in the room screamed in either terror or confusion on what was happening. Then, as the red light faded, four bodies crumpled to the ground, their eyes staring blankly at nothing.


	9. Chapter 9

_12:30_

Randy didn't know what hurt worse: the full minute of three individual screams attacking his ears, or landing stomach first in water after falling a thousand feet. Groaning as popped back up from underneath the water, Randy looked over to where the Nomicon had dropped him off this time.

Looking up, he saw he was on a cliff in the mountain biome. A waterfall came from above him, filling the pool he was in with water, and clouds travelled so close to him he could almost touch them. Yet he wasn't able to enjoy this beautiful scene as he heard three more splashes come around him.

Turning around, Randy' body stiffened as he saw what landed in the pool with him. Theresa, Debbie, and Howard sat up, hair dripping from the water. While the three teens began to look around confused, Randy began to internally freak out. " _Oh, cheese, oh cheese! This is bad! Why is this day making me look like such a shoob!?_ "

"Uh, Randy? Where are we?", Theresa asked, still confused on where they now were.

Randy didn't seem to hear her, still panicking on the inside. " _Why did the Nomicon not open for me? Why did it glow so bright? And why are there so many questions that need to be answered?!_ "

"Hello, Earth to Cunningham?", Howard said, waving his hand in front of Randy's face, which seemed to snap the teen out of his trance. Randy blinked, then put on a face of panic, one he wore much throughout that day.

"Oh man, this is bad! I have to get you guys out of here now!", the purple haired teen said before starting to forcefully push the three teens towards the edge of the pool.

"Whoa, watch it Randy! Where's the fire?" Debbie said, before pausing. "Also, where are we?"

"No time to explain! I'll tell you about it when we get back to our bodies!" Randy said, only to immediately regret it.

"Get back to our bodies? Randy, what are you talking about?", Theresa asked, stepping to the side of Randy so she could no longer be pushed. That sudden movement was all it took for Randy to lose his balance, falling face first into the water.

"Wait a second…" Howard said, looking around. "Random landscape, scribbled clouds, paper birds. Oh cheese, we're back in the Nomicon!", he said, causing the two girls to gasp and Randy to face palm.

"Wait, how is that possible? How can we be inside your book?", Debbie asked, looking at Randy.

Randy shrugged sheepishly. "Well, we aren't actually here. Our minds our here, while our bodies are back in the editorial room," Randy explained.

Debbie shook her head. "But…that actually makes sense somehow," she said, confused on why she wasn't confused.

"Wow…this is beautiful," Randy heard. Turning to the right, he couldn't help but smile as he saw Theresa standing at the cliff's edge, looking amazed at the landscape. He opened his mouth to speak, but was cut off by a new voice.

"Indeed it is, young girl." Randy's form re-stiffened as he turned around, recognizing the voice. He could feel his lunch threatening to come back up as he stared face to face with First Ninja. Though, he didn't have the disappointed or angry look in his eyes Randy expected; instead they seemed to be filled with wisdom and a bit of humor, the way they usually were. Randy didn't know if this fact made him more or less anxious.

Theresa, hearing this unexpected new voice, turned around only to stifle a shriek. Looking away, she shot Randy a confused look before speaking. "Uh…h-hello sir."

First Ninja seemed to find her confusion humorous as he started to chuckle, surprising everyone in the area. "Ah, Theresa, no need to be so nervous. Everything is as it should be," the elder Ninja spoke, before turning towards the current Ninja. "Ninja, you probably have questions."

Randy continued to stare shocked at his mentor for a moment, his eye twitching a bit, before he finally had enough. He could feel all of the day's problems he had to face finally become too much, and for some reason seeing First Ninja not sharing his anxiety pushed him over the edge.

"Questions?! Yeah I have some honking questions! How are you not freaking out that there are three people here in the Nomicon with us and whatever that stank fog in the commons was earlier are some that come to mind!" Randy decided to ignore the surprised looks on his friends faces in favor on letting loose some of the anger and anxiety he was dealt with that day. "I mean, how are _you_ not freaking out about all of this?! This is some next level cheese we're dealing with, and you're commenting on how nice the view is?!", he finished, panting a bit from his outburst.

Though his friends looked like they were processing Randy's freak-out, First Ninja seemed unfazed. After a moment of letting Randy pant, he spoke. "Do you feel better now?", he asked, crossing his arms behind his back.

Randy huffed for another moment, before crossing his arms. "A little bit," he mumbled.

"Ninja, you must realize that sometimes the best way to freak-out is to freak-in," First Ninja said, putting a hand on Randy's shoulder. Randy just gave him an exasperated look obviously not understanding what he meant. Though someone else did.

"Oh, so you're saying you are just trying to keep a brave face, but in reality, you are as scared as Randy," Debbie said matter-of-factly. The other three teens gave her a confused look, surprised she understood First Ninja's riddle. "What? I'm smart."

First Ninja only nodded, confirming that what Debbie said was true. He then turned back to Randy, who at this point had calmed down looked slightly embarrassed at what he had done. "Ninja, don't worry about your friends being here."

"Why not? I thought you would angry or something that I let more people into the Nomicon again," Randy said.

First Ninja sighed. "Ninja, I'm the one who let them in." Randy just stood there for a moment, before taking a step back, looking as if he was just slapped.

"What?!", he exclaimed. "Why would you do that?! Isn't this breaking like the second rule of being the Ninja or something?!"

The elder Ninja just shook his head. "I had hoped that you would have figured it out by now, Randall." Randy raised an eyebrow, both confused what his mentor was talking about and surprised he had once again addressed him by his real name. "But you'll figure it out eventually. You always do."

First Ninja walked to the side of the mountain where the rocky wall seemed to be cracking. "I don't understand what you're saying! Can you just tell me what you know normally?!"

The 800-year-old man seemed to ignore Randy's comment, instead staring intently at the wall in front of him. Then, pulling his fist back, he punched the wall, causing the rocky wall to shoot small stones in all directions. The four teens coughed as the dust cloud expanded, before opening their eyes to see what had just happened. Their eyes became wide as they saw that the part of the wall First Ninja had punched was now gone, a doorway in its place. A long stairway stretched from that point, torches lining the wall.

"All of your answers, Ninja," First Ninja began, getting the teenagers' attention. He then gestured to the opening, stepping away, before finishing his statement. "Lies down those stairs."

Randy walked towards the stairs, looking to see if he could see where it led. "What do you mean 'All of my answers' are…" Randy stopped talking once he realized that First Ninja had again disappeared into thin air. He opened his mouth to say something, but immediately closed it. It wasn't worth it. "Come on guys, let's get going. It looks like it's going to be a long walk down." He was about to go down before he noticed one person not coming to the rocky stairwell. Looking back, he was confused to see Theresa still staring at the landscape, though with a sadder smile this time.

Stepping out of the opening in the mountain, he quickly turned to Howard and Debbie. "Hey, uh, you guys go on ahead. I'll be right behind you."

Howard opened his mouth as to question his friend, but begrudgingly shut it as his friend shot him a pleading look. "Well then, ladies first," he said, taking a step back so Debbie would be in front of him. The blunette gave him a confused look, causing the ginger to shrug. "What? We don't know what's down there." Debbie grumbled a few choice words at that, before starting off down the staircase, Howard following behind her.

Randy rolled his eyes at the bickering pair before turning to the purple haired girl. Walking around the pond, he looked over the cliff, wanting to see what his crush was looking at. Below the cliff, at lush green forest grew, giving shelter to the doodle animals that resided in the Nomicon. In the distance, Randy could make out a large body of water, which glistened in the sunlight. Some birds flew through the sky, maneuvering between the clouds gracefully. Randy had to admit it was pretty stunning. He guessed he was always so focused on training whenever he came into the Nomicon he never really gave it a second glance. But he knew he couldn't admire it now either.

"It really is nice," Randy spoke, smiling at Theresa. Theresa nodded, mumbling an affirmation under her breath. Randy cocked his brow, not expecting that quiet of an answer. "Are you okay? You've been acting kind of weird since you found out everything. Which is understandable and all, but I just want to make sure that everything you are fine."

"What do you mean weird?", she asked, finally looking away from the artificial landscape.

"Well..." Randy began, trying to find the right words. "You've just been kind of emotional, I guess. One minute, you're shy, the next you're stone-faced, the next you're giving me smiles, and the next you act like everything is okay. I know that with everything you found out today, you may not know how to feel but I want you to know I'm here to help." He chuckled a bit before he finished. "It's what I do."

Theresa sighed at Randy's words, getting down to sit of the cliff's edge. Randy followed her action, sitting so his legs dangled off the edge. She continued to stare into the distance for a minute longer before she decided to speak. "Randy, you know I've always liked you. But…" She paused, an action that worried Randy greatly. "…This is all just too much."

Randy cocked his brow, trying to ignore the pit that just formed in his gut. "What do you mean?"

"Everything. It's all just…" She sighed again, leaning back, resting her palms on the rocky floor. "You aren't the same person anymore."

Before she could say anything else, Randy stopped her. "That's not true. Just because you now know I'm the Ninja, it doesn't mean I'm a different person. Under the mask, I'm still Randy Cunningham." As he finished, he tried to flash her a confident smile. His smile dropped, however, as he saw tears begin to form in the corners of her eyes,

"No Randy, you're not." She wiped away some of her tears that ran down her face, a quiet sniffle coming from her. "Earlier today, I was afraid that you being the Ninja meant that I didn't really know you. But, when you were telling Debbie and I everything you have done to help people, the things you sacrificed this year, I knew I knew who you were."

Randy felt a small bubble of hope rise in him at the baton twirler's words. "So then there's no problem, right?"

Theresa simply shook her head, a few tears coming off her cheeks and falling down into the forest below. "Randy, in the past few weeks, you've changed. I don't think you've noticed it, but I have."

"What do you mean changed?", he asked, the bubble popping.

Theresa let out a shaky sigh, everything that she truly felt that day finally coming out. "You aren't this angsty teen." Seeing her crushes eyebrow raise, she elaborated. "For over a month, you've barely laughed in school or pulled a prank or anything. You kept looking at, what I'm guessing was, your mask or this book in class, and…" She sighed again. "Stopped being Randy."

The purple haired teen opened his mouth to say something, but was stopped as Theresa continued. "And then, today with everything that's happening, you aren't handling it like you usually would. I mean, panicking about everything that's happening and worrying about what may happen…that's not the Randy Cunningham I know."

"Hey, this isn't like any other time," Randy said, a bit defensive about what Theresa said. "This is the 'Ultimate Evil'. I'm sorry if that fact may be psyching me out a bit."

Theresa seemed unfazed by Randy's words, however, as she sadly stared at the boy. "That's true, but you never let anything psych you out before. That time we were being hunted by that evil witch lady, you bought everyone enough time to escape. When that giant robot chased you last March after Debbie told everyone you were the Ninja, you somehow defeated it. Heck, you went back in time and helped seal the Sorcerer away. You've been through tons of battles, saving countless lives, and even if you were scared, you never let it get in your way. What makes now so different?"

Randy opened his mouth to say something, but found he couldn't find the words. She was right; everything Theresa said was right. He started slightly as he felt a hand touch his shoulder. Looking up, he saw her watery eyes stare into his dry eyes. "I don't who this panicky and melancholy teen is that keeps freaking out today, but I do know it's not Randy. Randy is the bravest person I know, who even in a situation where he should feel scared, he still does the right thing instead of letting it get in his way." She then stood up, turning away from her crush, barely holding back the tears. "And I really miss that Randy."

As Theresa walked towards the staircase, trying to dry her tears before she caught up with Howard and Debbie, Randy continued to stare at the spot the baton twirler sat. Letting out a sigh, he stood up and headed for the staircase, realizing he didn't need today's help in making him look like a shoob. He was doing just fine by himself.

 _12:44_

"I'm telling you, Principal Slimovitz, there's something weird going on in here!", Doug said as he practically dragged his headmaster into the commons room. While Slimovitz looked rather annoyed as his least favorite student dragged him through the hallways, Doug looked one-ladybug-landing-behind-him-away from a nervous breakdown.

As they got to the center of the room, Doug finally released his grip from his principal's arm. "Here, here! Now listen!" Slimovitz rolled his eyes, yet still stayed quiet if only to appease the nerdy kid. A beat passed, then two, and then…

"Oh, this is ridiculous, Doug!", Slimovitz said, beginning to walk away. Doug had to admit he was confused. Where was the laughter? The weird glowing light? The bone chilling voice? It was like it was never there in the first place.

"No, I don't understand! It was all right here. Oh, why did I think you would believe me?! I was a fool! A fool!", Doug screeched, dropping to his knees and regaining his headmaster's attention.

Slimovitz slowly walked back to Doug, who at this point had started hitting the floor in frustration. "Okay, I think it might be time to go call mommy? What do you think about that Doug?" Doug nodded a bit, whimpering, before standing up. "That's good, come one, let's go." The two walked away, heading back to Slimovitz's office, before the room once again went silent.

Then, stone began to pulse with light. The amber coloring shone through in the room, before it slowly began to fade to green. Once the glow became completely green, the eerie voice spoke again. " _Nomicon…Near…Freedom…_ " Bits of stank started to fly out of the stone, only to disappear a few feet away from where it formed. A growl erupted. There still wasn't enough chaos yet to break free.

The growl suddenly began a blood-curdling shriek, before all went quiet. The Eye of Eternity's glow began to fade, and as it returned to its normal coloration, all returned to normal. For now.

 _12:58_

Randy couldn't help the groan the escaped his lips as he reached the end of the staircase. Even though technically he had no body at the moment, every part of him was sore. Next time First Ninja opened up a secret cave in a mountain, could it lead to an elevator?

Walking underneath the canopy of trees from the jungle, Randy quickly sat down on a nearby rock to catch his breath. Wiping a bit of sweat off his brow, he sat back up, keeping an eye open for where his friends might be. Well…friend. He wasn't exactly sure where he stood with Theresa and Debbie right now. Yet, as he looked up, he was met by a completely different face.

"Penny for your thoughts, Ninja?", First Ninja asked, sitting lotus positon on the same rock next to Randy. Randy jumped in the air from his mentor's sudden reappearance, letting out a high-pitched squeal. As soon as the noise left his mouth, Randy's face became unusually red as First Ninja cocked a brow.

Randy quickly cleared his throat, trying to suppress the embarrassment. "Yes, that was a girl's scream, but it was an _intimidating_ girl's scream," he said.

First Ninja merely chuckled in humor. "No, it really was not." Randy sighed at that, bowing his head again in embarrassment. "Now, it seems something is bothering you. Do you want to talk about it?"

Randy sighed, before speaking. "No, not really"

The two sat in silence for a moment after that, the only noise coming from the countless animals residing in the jungle. Then, First Ninja cleared his throat, getting Randy's attention. "I assume your attitude is because of what Theresa said? About how you've been acting like a-what's the word…shoob?"

Randy just sighed again, bring in his legs to hug them to his chest. "You wouldn't get it," the purple haired boy said after a moment.

First Ninja chuckled a bit at that, seeming to find a bit of humor in the boy's forlorn statement. "That's where you would be wrong, Ninja. In my day, there was a woman that was the apple of my eye. A whole harem of them actually. I was especially fond of Tamara, this small-town-", the elder Ninja began to explain, but was cut off by Randy.

"Okay, no offense there First Ninja, but I do _not_ need to know your "relationship" history!", Randy yelled, putting up his hands as if to shield himself from the man's words.

First Ninja nodded his understanding. "Fair enough. Now, what is on your mind?"

Randy internally groaned, knowing he had no way out of this conversation. Swallowing his pride, Randy began to speak. "It's just…she's right."

First Ninja rose his eyebrow, though he knew exactly what his protégée was talking about. Still, he decided to prod him to continue. "Right about what?"

"Everything!", Randy said, standing up as if to prove his point. "That I'm not myself anymore! That I've stopped doing everything I love because I wanted to be prepared for an attack that wouldn't happen! That I've let this Ultimate Evil get to my head and today I've been a total shoob!" Randy quietly panted, slightly out of breath from his tirade.

First Ninja smirked a bit under his mask, though Randy didn't notice. What he did notice, though, was the 800-year-old man pat the part of the rock next to him, motioning him to sit down. Still breathing heavily, a bit, Randy sat down.

The two sat in silence for another moment or two, before First Ninja spoke. "You know, I too experienced what you're going through." That apparently seemed to get Randy's attention, his head turning in surprise to look at his mentor.

"What?"

The headband wearing Ninja nodded, almost chuckling. "Ah yes. It was about two decades after we had sealed the Sorcerer in his prison. At that time, he was still too weak from the magic seal I placed to transform people into monsters, or as you say, 'stank them'. I had spent those years trying to recover the four lost Sorcerer Balls, yet had only been able to find one of them." Randy suddenly felt a bit smug over the fact he found the other three balls in only a few months. Not that he was going to say that out loud.

"It was only shortly after I sealed Plop Plop away with the orb I found that I began to feel different. Even with the suit's magic, I was starting to become weaker, slower. Though I was a bit surprised, I knew what was happening. I was in my mid-50's by that point. Doing certain activities took quite a tool on me. Even stopping a petty thief began to become too much for me to handle."

"So, what did you do?", Randy asked.

First Ninja turned to look at the freshman, though his eyes showed Randy was not his focus. "I gave up."

Silence washed over the two, the only noise being the wind blowing the wind rustling the leaves around them. After a few moments, Randy finally breathed out one word. "What?"

First Ninja nodded, turning back to stare at nothing. "Yes. I knew that that was the end for me. I had avenged my brothers, had sealed away my greatest enemy, the world was at peace. There was no longer a use for the Ninja."

Randy absorbed his words for a moment, before speaking. "But…the world _did_ still need a Ninja. It needed a Ninja for another 800 years after you retired."

First Ninja sighed a bit, turning his head to look at the purple-haired teen again. "I was getting to that." Randy winced, realizing he had just cut the elder Ninja off. Putting his fingers to his lips, he mimed zipping them together before motioning for him to continue.

"As I was saying, there was no longer a use for the Ninja…or so I thought. So, I sealed the Ninja mask away in the Nomicon, the only place I knew the magic artifact would be safe, and spent the next five years just being Hiro Norisu instead of the warrior I once was. However, as you know, it was easier said than done. I tried many different activities in a way to busy myself. I participated in botany, painting, cooking, even playing a musical instrument, yet nothing fulfilled me like saving people. For so long, I was the Norrisville Ninja, a hero among heroes. But without the mask, I didn't know who I was."

Randy sighed, knowing exactly how that felt. Before he could say anything else, though, the elder Ninja continued. "Then it happened. The first monster attack in nearly 25 years. Some poor traveler had been 'stanked' and was wreaking havoc. I knew what was happening, and wanted to help, but knew I would do more harm than good. Things looked bleak for the town, and I was afraid there would be enough chaos to free the Sorcerer, when the unexpected happened.

"A young warrior around your age came from nowhere, and fought back against the monster. To this day I am not sure if it was his skill with a sword or by sheer luck, but he somehow was able to defeat the monster. And it was at that moment I knew what I had to do.

"Using the last of the magic in my body, I was able to transfer my consciousness to the Nomicon, thus being the first of many to learn the ultimate lesson. I then had one of my colleagues, a man who always wore some hat from the west, to give both the mask and the Nomicon to that young warrior, thus starting the Ninja Cycle."

"Uh, that's a cool story and all, First Ninja," Randy said, a confused look on his face, "But what does any of it have to do with the situation I'm in right now?"

The elder Ninja chuckled, seeming to expect that response. "Ninja, when that young man, the Second Ninja fought that monster, I saw something that I hadn't seen in a long time. Someone who had no fear, who put their lives on the line in order to protect the defenseless. I saw a hero. I saw myself and my brothers.

"That day I realized that while the world still needed the Ninja, it wouldn't be me. And I was okay with that, because I had realized who I was. The same person you are Randall." First Ninja then looked at the teen before continuing. "With or without the mask, we are heroes."

Randy didn't know what to say about any of that. All he could do was stare at his mentor, mulling over his words. However, before he could think for long, First Ninja stood up from the rock, and began to walk down the path. "H-hey, where are you going?"

The man stopped, turning around. "I believe it is time you got your answers."


	10. Chapter 10

_1:21_

The artificial Sun shone on to the paper town. The drawings of people from the past went about their regular ways, doing the same routine they did the day before and they will do tomorrow. A shopkeeper stood in front of his store, watering his flowers. A group of children played in the streets, making sure not to be hurt by horse-drawn carts passing by. A man plowed a field, caring for his crops as his son sat under the shade of a tree by the nearby forest, sleeping.

"Uh, lucky kid. I wish I could be taking a nap right now," Howard muttered as he, Theresa, and Debbie walked through the town. Debbie rolled her eyes at the husky boy's remark.

"Come on, Howard. You're not the least bit fascinated about what you're experiencing right now? I mean, we are in a magic book for cheese sake!", the blue haired girl exclaimed.

Howard stared at the girl for a moment before speaking. "Nope, just want the nap." Debbie face-palmed, but didn't comment further. Instead, she turned towards her best friend who was currently looking around the village.

"Do you see Randy anywhere?"

Theresa shook her head, though kept an emotionless expression on her face. "No, I don't know where he is."

Debbie cocked her eyebrow, staring worriedly at her friend. "Hey, are you okay?"

Theresa looked over at the short female, forcing a small smile on her face. "I'll be fine, don't worry. Just have a lot on my mind right now."

Debbie frowned, her worry for her best friend showing on her face. When she went to go and ask her again what was wrong, however, she was interrupted as Howard yelled something in her ear. "Hey, Cunningham! Over here!"

Ignoring the mild ringing she couldn't stop hearing, Debbie turned around to see that Randy was finally showing up, emerging from the lush forest in front of them. Watching him walk over, she internally sighed seeing him slightly stiffen when he noticed Theresa. Instead of mentioning it, she asked to question they were all wondering. "Hey, where did you go?"

Randy gave a small, sheepish smile before speaking. "Sorry guys, I got a little caught up talking to First Nin-" He cut himself off as he turned around, gesturing to nothing behind him. Confused, he turned around, trying to find something that the others didn't see. The other three teenagers each raised an eyebrow, before hearing someone clear their throat behind them.

All four teens turned around, only to shriek, and in Howard's case fall, in surprise at seeing First Ninja leaning against a house behind them. Taking a moment to catch their breaths, Randy glared at his predecessor. "Would you stop doing that?!"

The 800-year-old fighter chuckled a little, before beginning to walk away. After a moment of walking, he stopped and turned to look back at the group. "Are you coming?" That seemed to snap the four out of whatever stupor they were in before they followed the man.

Walking in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes, they saw the elder Ninja take a sudden turn into an alleyway. Following First Ninja, the four teens were confused to see the man open a door at the end of the alley, gesturing for them to walk in. While Debbie, Theresa, and Howard were feeling hesitant to walk in, Randy walked forward, knowing what lay on the other side of that door. Watching the purple haired teen disappear into the dark room that lay behind, the other three waited a moment before eventually walking in as well.

As soon as they entered, the darkness from outside cleared, revealing where they were. The tan walls of the building contrasted nicely with the red beams spreading throughout the room. In the center of the room was a rug consisting of various shades of red, and on it was a stone podium. Behind them, the plain door they walked through was now made of bamboo painted red. Though the paper ceiling the group could see birds flying overhead, something they had not seen in the town before. Out of curiosity, Debbie opened the door again, but instead of the dark alleyway they were just in, she could only see grassy plains in all directions.

While Howard, Theresa, and Debbie had no idea where they were or how they got there, Randy immediately recognized the place. "This is where the Ninja Mask was made, isn't it?", he asked, staring at the podium.

The First Ninja gave a small smile, though it was barely noticeable behind his mask. "I felt it fitting to have everything end where it all began."

"Wait, what do you mean end?", Howard asked, the two girls by his side sharing similar thoughts. Instead of answering, the First Ninja got into Lotus Position on the red rug, staring at the podium in the middle of the room. His refusal to answer questions was starting to real bug the three. Getting the message, everyone got down to sit on the rug, all of the facing the podium.

The elder Ninja took a deep breath, closing his eyes as he thrust his arm out. After a few seconds, his hand became bathed in a white light. The light began to take shape, the man willing its form it bend and twist. A few moments later, he was holding a sphere of light. He then willed it to move forward, the four teens watching it travel from his palm to the podium. Before anyone could question what had happened, the First Ninja spoke again.

"The anomaly that brought the Tengu into this world tipped to balance in Chaos's favor." Howard, Debbie, and Theresa were surprised to see the giant orb begin to show what the man was explaining, as the fire bird came from the Land of Shadows into this world. "It was only through the combined efforts of my brothers and I were we able to defeat the creature."

"By combining our magic were we able to form a weapon of peace to battle the Tengu." The video on the glowing orb shifted to show the nine men in that very room, crafting the Ninja Mask. It then shifted again to show the Norisu Nine battling the fire bird. "Our battle lasted many months, before we finally discovered the source of the Tengu's powers: its feathers. Combining the feathers with the Ninja suit gave me enough power to defeat the Tengu and seal it somewhere where its powers will be suppressed, keeping the scales of fate balanced."

"The Eye of Eternity," Randy muttered. First Ninja gave a short nod, before continuing.

"Wait a sec, what does that turkey have anything to do with any of this?" Howard asked, looking a mixture of annoyed and confused. First Ninja sighed, before gesturing back to the viewing orb.

The orb image changed again, to show the First Ninja and the Norisu Nine putting the feathers into the Ninja Suit. "However, there was a catch. My brothers and I knew the risk of combining the Tengu's power with the suit's. We all knew the dangers that could come from it, yet we knew it was the only way."

Debbie raised her hand, feeling the need to ask a question for the two members of the group that weren't aware of what he was talking about. "Uh, what dangers might those be?"

The elder ninja sighed, before willing the image in the glowing sphere to change again. This time, to the teenagers' surprise, it showed the battle between Randy and the Tengu-possessed Howard during spirit week. "By combining the Tengu's powers with the mask's, it formed a bond between the two. Now, all of their strengths are shared, their weaknesses hindering both, and their pain to be able to be felt by both." As he said this, the fight on the orb transitioned to end, when Randy started to fight himself and eventually burn the Ninja Mask. "However…this also means that one may be able to control the other." Hearing those words, everyone's eyes widened substantially.

The orb shifted again, this time showing Randy and Tengu-possessed Howard fighting the sorcerer in 1213. It showed Randy using the Ninja Suit to control the Tengu in an Avatar-like fashion. "With the bond now formed, we hypothesized that the one with the greatest power may be able to control the other. This is why this was such a dangerous decision to make.

"You see, while the Tengu is a beast made of Chaotic energy, the Ninja Suit was made to be a weapon for peace. By putting part of the Tengu into the suit, we put the two opposing forces into a battle for control. It was only with the added power that was already in the suit that we were able to control the Tengu and seal it away. But if the Tengu were to gain more power…"

"Then it would be able to take control instead," Randy said. Though it was barely above a whisper, it was heard clearly by everyone. First Ninja simply nodded solemnly, before willing the orb to show a scene from earlier today, where the Ninja Mask first changed from its red coloration to the green Randy had come to loathe.

"B-but, how is that possible?" Debbie asked, baffled. "If I understand what you are saying, then how has the Tengu gained power if it's been stuck in an orb for the whole year?"

First Ninja said nothing, just willing the orb to again change its scene. This time it showed Randy's final battle with The Sorcerer. The group watched as Randy cut the 800-year-old wizard from his belt, before throwing it into the giant hole in the middle of the room. Randy was initially confused on how this had anything to with the situation at hand. Then he saw it.

As the belt fell, Howard's shoe, which was previously stuck between two Chaos Orbs, fell off the belt, causing the belt to only change its descent trajectory slightly, though it was enough. The group watched as the chaotic energy burst from the belt, before travelling to the top of the prison. They watched as the stank seeped through the cracks, before surrounding the Eye of Eternity. They watched as the green gas seemed to attack the sacred gem, and they heard something squawking. And they watched as the stank disappeared, and everything fade back to normal besides the ominous laughter echoing through the halls.

The four teens then turned to First Ninja, eyes wide and jaws unhinged. "Energy cannot be created nor destroyed, yet can be contained. When the Chaos Pearls were destroyed, the energy inside travelled to the nearest container. It was just unfortunate that said container already contained something else."

An uncomfortable silence came over the room, the only noise being Howard's panicked breaths. After a moment, the usual laid-back boy lost his cheese.

"Oh well, that is fantastic, isn't it?! So what I'm hearing is not only the Ninja basically powerless now, but the bird spirit that possessed me _twice_ is more powerful than ever and is trying to escape?! And to top it off, apparently, it's _our_ fault!", he finished, gesturing to himself and Randy. The purple-haired boy looked down in shame, but perked up a bit at this mentor's next words.

First Ninja shook his head at Howard's comment. "No Howard, it is neither you nor Randall's fault. The Ninja did what was best at the time. It was just the fate's design that this has happened. No one is to blame, and no one should worry about who is to blame. There are much more pressing matters to attend to."

Randy smiled a bit, before his face became overtaken by a confused frown. He realized there was something that didn't add up. "So wait, if what you're saying is true and that the Tengu is the cause of all of this, then why hasn't it just attacked us yet? If it has enough power to control the Ninja Suit, then isn't it strong enough to attack Norrisville?"

First Ninja nodded grimly. "Yes, it is strong enough to fight you, Ninja. However, it is not strong enough to escape the Eye of Eternity. At least not yet."

"Now what the juice does that mean?!", Howard asked, clearly still annoyed.

First Ninja sighed, starting to get a little annoyed with having to explain everything. Nevertheless, the glowing orb once again change what it was showing, this time showing the sacred stone in question. "The Eye of Eternity is, in simplest terms, calcified energy taken from the portal that linked this world to the Land of Shadows. Harnessing its power, we were able to stop the Tengu and trap it in the stone. The stone held more than enough power to contain the spirit's power. However, now that the Tengu has The Sorcerer's powers, it has gotten stronger." The orb then shifted to show the stanked versions Theresa and Julian from earlier today. Afterwards, it shifted to show the Eye of Eternity, seeming to grow as stank was produced around it. "And with each monster it creates, its power will continue to grow, until-" The stone continued to grow, before it got its grew as much as it could, and exploded. A shadow then came out of where the sacred stone once was, before spreading two black wings and cawing.

Once again, the room was bathed in silence as First Ninja willed the viewing orb to disappear. It only ended as Randy suddenly jumped to his feet, his face showing nothing but determination. "I can't let that happen." The other three teens looked at him in surprise, not expecting him to be taking this well. "If the Tengu gets free, who knows how much damage it could cause with The Sorcerer's powers. I need to get the stone away from the school, somewhere it won't bother anyone ever again."

Howard then stood up, this time directing his annoyance at Randy which surprised him. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What do you mean _you_ get the stone away from the school? This is as much my problem as it yours, Cunningham."

Randy sighed, knowing they didn't have a lot of time and this conversation wasn't helping. But before he could say anything, he was surprised to see Theresa stand up as well. "And mine."

The purple-haired teen opened his mouth again to reply again, but was cut off as Debbie stood up. "Same for me."

Randy waited a moment, seeing if anyone else was going to say anything, before finally speaking. "Guys, no. This is way too dangerous-"

"For you to do by yourself," Theresa finished for him. "Randy, this really serious. If you don't get the Tengu away from the school before it frees itself, you won't be able to face it alone." Randy was a bit surprised to hear Theresa say that, especially after their talk not even an hour ago.

"Cunningham," Howard said, getting Randy's attention. "I was there with you for The Sorcerer, for Evil Julian, for McFist, and every other bad guy you've faced. No way am I missing out on this." The husky grin then gave a little smirk. "Besides, we both know you wouldn't have been able to beat any of those guys without my help."

"Though I doubt that that is true," Debbie began looking at Howard, before turning back to Randy, "I have to agree. If this the 'Ultimate Evil', there is no way you can do this by yourself. I would have hoped that would have gotten through your thick skull by now." As she finished, she too smirked, showing she was joking. Well, mostly.

Randy had to say he was touched by his friends' words. Theresa, Howard, even Debbie were really worried for him. And he knew they were right; this was dangerous. That was why he didn't want them involved in this; he hated they were this deep already. Yet, as he opened his mouth to again deny they have any involvement in what was about to happen, something only he could see floated over his friends' head. Letters that looked they were drawn by pen form words, and finally a sentence that Randy had already seen once before. " _Every piece is important in a puzzle._ " Arrows then formed pointing at each of his friends. And then something clicked in Randy's head.

"Okay," he sighed. His friends looked a bit surprised that he agreed so easily, but nonetheless smiled in appreciation. Giving a smile of his own, Randy then turned to First Ninja, who had been watching this entire interaction with interest. "Thank you for everything First Ninja."

The elder warrior nodded, supposedly smiling under his mask. "Of course, Ninja. It was my pleasure." He then raised his hand toward the doors on the other side of the room, causing them to fly open, revealing only a white light. "Now I believe it is time for all to go and save the world." The four teens nodded, before turning to go through the doors. Theresa was the first to go through, followed by Debbie, and then Howard. However, as Randy was about to go through, he heard his mentor once again say his name. "Randall." Randy stopped and turned around, confused at what else First Ninja needed to say. "There is something else."

Confused, Randy took a step forward to see what the man was talking about. The 800-year-old warrior put his hand on his successor's shoulder. "There is one last lesson I must teach you before you leave."

Hearing that, Randy momentarily forgot about his possible doom and smiled. "Oh, bruce! What are we talking about here? You about to teach me that move that releases that dragon. Or maybe that one that lets me run super-fast. Or-" He was cut off as First Ninja directed his gaze to the side of the room, revealing the letters that were previously hanging over his friends' heads. He then watched as they changed, forming a different message.

" _Knowledge is the key._ " Randy immediately deadpanned as he read the words out loud. "Oh, you mean that kind of lesson. No, that's cool too." He then turned back to his predecessor. "Any chance you telling me what that me-" He stopped talking once he realized his mentor was not where he once was. Looking around the room, the purple haired teen groaned. "Oh, so not cool!" Looking at the lesson once more on the wall, Randy tuned and ran to the white light, leaving the Nomicon.

A few seconds past before a large cloud of dust appeared in the dojo. As it cleared, it revealed First Ninja had come back, with an uncharacteristically sad look in his eyes. Walking towards the doors, he grabbed both by their handles. He then looked into the white expanse in front of him, and sighed. "Goodbye, Ninja." And he closed the doors.


	11. Chapter 11

_1:47_

Randy groaned as he got off the floor, rubbing a spot he felt his head hit when he left his body. Looking up, he saw that everyone else was doing the same thing, obviously not used to shloomping. "Everyone okay?" he asked, regaining his bearings.

Theresa and Howard gave affirmatives, but Debbie had something else to say. "Uh, how do not always have a headache from that?" Debbie asked, shakily getting to her feet.

Randy rolled his eyes, taking her sarcasm as a sign that she was fine. So instead of answering, Randy ran to the door of the office, flinging it open. Turning back around to the other three teens, he spoke a simple "Come on!" before rushing out of the room towards the commons. Feeling their headaches beginning to lessen, Theresa and Howard followed the teenaged ninja's lead, rushing out of the room. Debbie went to run after them, before catching sight of the Nomicon still on her desk. Knowing Randy probably wouldn't want to leave the powerful tome unattended, Debbie grabbed in before shoving it in her backpack. She then ran out of her office, following the other three teenagers.

The four teens ran down the hall, pushing past excited kids who had just come back from the carnival outside, or teachers who were so happy they were about to be free from students they didn't care that there were people running in the halls. After a minute of sprinting, the group came to a halt in the commons. Ignoring Howard panting as he tried to regain his breath, Randy glared at the stone in the middle of the floor surrounded by about twenty students.

"Okay, there it is," he said, before wincing as another kid accidently bumped into him, before walking over to a group of friends into the room. "We need to get these people out of here," Randy said to everyone, ignoring the fact the kid never apologized, and trying to think of something they could do to make sure no one was hurt by the stone.

Before he could think of a plan, Debbie stepped forward, looking confident. "Leave that to me." Taking a deep breath and closing her eyes, she put a panicked look on her face before screaming a loud as she could. "Everyone run! A chemical fire from Mrs. Driscoll's room is burning up the building!" She internally smirked, expecting everyone to go into a panic before rushing out of the school. However, she frowned as she noticed no one reacted in any way to what she had said.

The blue-haired girl narrowed her eyes, deciding she needed to up the stakes. Clearing her throat, she put an even more panicked look on her face, this time waving her arms in a frenzy. "Everyone run! A monster is destroying the carnival, and is coming this way!" Her arms fell to her sides and her panicked face became confused after a moment as everyone went on, not paying her words any mind.

She opened her mouth slightly in shock, wondering what it would take to make these idiots leave. She then felt a clammy had on her shoulder. Turning around, she noticed it was Howard, who, while still looking out of breath, had a smug smirk on his face. "Let me handle this Kang." Debbie scoffed, backing away. She didn't see the harm of watching the red-head also fail in trying to vacate the premises.

Howard stood for a moment, regaining his composure from the run he just partook in. Then, taking a deep breath, he yelled as loud as he could. "HEY EVERYONE! FREE FUNNEL CAKE OUTSIDE FOR THE NEXT 15 CUSTOMERS!" Like some sort of spell was cast, every teenager in the room ran like mad men towards the door, hoping to get some of the deep-fried delicacy. As the last person left, Howard smirked, leering at a completely speechless Debby Kang. "And that is how you do it."

Debbie spluttered, trying to think of something to say from that, but came up with nothing. If the situation they were in wasn't so serious, Randy would have started laughing at her face. Instead, taking another look around to make sure all the civilians had left, Randy walked toward the Eye of Eternity, putting the Ninja Mask on whilst walking.

Reaching the center of the room, Randy looked for something in his suit, hoping that it wouldn't also turn to ash. After a few moments of searching, Randy was pleased as he saw the Sorcerer's Key stay solid. Behind him everyone was smiling a bit. They couldn't believe this was going so well. Then Debbie scowled. It was so easy. Almost a little _too_ easy.

Getting on his knees, Randy raised the magical key high in the air, ready to plunge in into the stone. Smirking underneath his mask, Randy decided that this moment deserved a quip. "Bye-bye, birdie." He ignored the boos coming from Howard. Instead, he brought the key down, ready to pick up the stone and get away from the school.

What he was not expecting, however, was for the key to completely shatter as it made contact with the Eye of Eternity. Randy's eyes widen as he brought his hand back up, only to see the end of the key still in his hand. "Oh boy, that's not good," he said, feeling dread settle in his stomach.

Before he had a chance to anything else, however, he began to hear some laughing. Becoming stiff as a board, Randy looked around trying to find the source of the ominous laughter. Behind him, his friends were looking frantically around the room, being freaked out by the noise. "Cunningham?", Howard questioned, eyes shifting to his best friend.

If Randy heard him, he didn't show it. Instead, he eyes were looking at the stone, as he watched it turn from yellow to green. Green gas started to seep out from under the stone, rising into the air. Randy went for his sword, only to remember it was destroyed. Instead, he backed up out of reflex, grouping together with his friends.

In a mixture of amazement and horror the group watched as the stank rose, shaping into an avian form. The stank bird then cawed loudly, before turning its "head" down to look at the group. Mimicking the action of spreading of a bird's wings, the bird rose in the air, beginning to circle the group. Then, it dove downward, heading for the first target it saw: Howard.

Howard yelled, putting his hands out in a futile attempt to block the green gas, before it entered his body. Everyone was incredibly still for a moment, waiting for the ginger-haired boy to transform. Howard looked over his body, trying to see if he was changing anywhere, but after a few moments of looking, stopped. Looking at his best friend, whose was still in mild shock about what he just saw, Howard shrugged, not sure why nothing was happening. Then, Howard's lips grew to an enormous size. Looking down, the husky boy didn't have a chance to shout in surprise before he started twitching involuntarily, the stank finally getting to him. Theresa and Debbie hurried behind Randy, who was still too surprised to move away from his best friend.

Hunching over, Howard's body began to grow, becoming half as tall as the school in seconds. His back began to form a hunch, putting his head in the center of his chest. His hair stayed in its style, though seemed to become greaser and become a darer shade of orange. His previously pale skin began to turn a disgusting shade of green, looking almost gray. His feet shot out of his shoes, and his arms and legs grew to the size of tree trunks. From his lips, his teeth turned yellow, rotting and moving around, some even falling out. On random points on his skin, warts sprung up. The beast that was once the Ninja's best friend, before looking up and growling at the three teens, staring at them with a pair of yellow eyes.

As the stanked-Howard finished growling, covering his friends with drool, Debbie wiped some saliva off her forehead in disgust. "Uh, Howard. Two words: breath mint." In response, the troll-like creature raised his fist, planning on squashing the teenagers like bugs. This seemed to snap Randy out of his stupor however, as he pushed the two girls behind him out of the way, barely avoiding the fatal blow.

Rolling into a crouch, Randy stared at his best friend. He didn't want to have to do this; he didn't want to have to fight his best friend. Fighting him that time he was possessed by the Tengu was hard enough. And now, he didn't have any sort of weapon to help him fight. He looked over the monstrous version of his best friend to try to find where the stank had stuck too, but couldn't see anything on the teenager's body that wasn't already torn or broken.

He didn't have much time to look, though, as the stanked ginger swiped his hand at the group again, making everyone scatter in different directions. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Theresa and Debbie hide by the staircase, only the tops of their heads showing as they watched the fight. Feeling that they were safe, Randy looked around the room, looking for something he could use to protect himself. However, he didn't have much time as Howard brought both his fists down, intending to crush the Ninja. Jumping out of the way, Randy couldn't help but gulp when he saw that that one hit had left an enormous crater in the floor.

Realizing that if he had any chance of winning this fight he would need to go on the offensive if he had any chance of winning, an idea came to Randy's mind. Waiting for his stanked friend to raise his hand again to strike him, Randy broke into a sprint, heading straight for the monster. On the sidelines, Debbie and Theresa gasped, not sure what the freshman was doing.

Randy clenched his teeth, knowing he would to time this perfectly. Watching the fist close in on him, Randy got down, sliding in between Howard's legs. Rolling back to his legs and beginning to sprint again, albeit stumbling a bit, he smiled as he heard his plan worked. As Howard punched where Randy once was, right under his legs, the force once again caused a crater to form under the troll-like creature's feet. The sudden shift under him was enough for the stanked teenager to stumble, falling onto his stomach.

Randy stopped, turning around to see his handiwork. Smiling as he saw his friend lying prone on the floor and struggling to get up due to his enormous girth, Randy ran over and used the small window of time he had to look for the stanked item. Hopping onto the troll-like teen's back, Randy went to check his pocket for the item keeping his best friend a monster. However, as he began to walk, he failed to notice one of the warts on Howard's back expanding rapidly. It was only after the wart blew did Randy realize something happened, but by that point it was too late. The force of the wart explosion was enough to propel Randy off Howard's back, while also seeming to give Howard the strength to stand up again.

Grunting as he landed on his stomach, the Ninja internally groaned as he heard Howard finally pull himself up. However, Randy was unprepared as something wrapped around him. Feeling himself being lifted off the ground, Randy soon came face to face with his stanked best friend, trapped in his mutated hand. Howard growled again, starting to bring Randy towards his mouth. Randy began to panic, trying to free his arms, though he knew it was futile against the monster's strength. Behind him, he could hear Theresa and Debbie yelling at him to try and get away.

After a few more tries of squirming out of the huge hand, Randy realized the attempts were futile, and tried to switch to another tactic. Looking the stanked teenager in the eyes, Randy said the first thing to come to his head. "Howard, stop!"

Surprisingly, the monster did stop bringing the Ninja to his mouth, instead staring at him confused. Randy blinked, not believing that that had actually worked. But knowing not to waste this opportunity, he kept talking. "Howard, come on buddy. It's me Randy, your best friend. You would never want to hurt me. Just yesterday, we were talking about our plans for this summer. Hanging out at Greg's, stuffing our faces at PJ McFlubbusters, not doing any of our summer reading. Come on Howard, you can't do this. You have to remember."

The stanked boy looked at the boy in his hand, his words seeming to reach him. The monster stared at the boy, the two staring into each other's eyes. Theresa and Debbie, stood on the ground, not believing that Randy's plan might have been working, but stayed quiet as to not ruin anything. Howard tilted his head, the words seeming get through the boy's clouded mind. Then, Howard promptly opened his mouth, and taking a deep breath…

Randy had to resist the urge to throw up in his mask from the burp Howard had just let out. Howard seemed to taste it for a moment, before putting a satisfied smile on his face. He then proceeded to bring Randy to his mouth again. Still reeling from the burp that came from Nomicon-knows-what, Randy didn't have it in him to talk. However, he did grimace as he could feel saliva from the stanked student's drip onto his head.

The panic returning to the Ninja, Randy began thrashing in his best friend's hand for any way out. However, as he could feel himself travel further into the troll's mouth, he began to fear the worst was about to happen, and from his best friend no less. Letting out a final scream, Randy almost didn't notice Howard stop moving. Opening an eye he hadn't realized he had even closed, Randy saw the stanked teen had turned his head away from Randy to the right. Turning his own head, Randy internally groaned as he noticed Howard was staring at the Eye of Eternity.

Knowing this could only lead to trouble, Randy continued to squirm to get out of his stanked friend's grasp. Though, Randy was not expecting Howard to shoot his arm to the side and let go of Randy, throwing the hero to the other side of the room. Grunting as he hit the far wall, Randy forced himself up to see what his friend was doing. Though his head was buzzing and there was only ringing in his ears, his eyes immediately widened, because through his double vision Randy saw Howard hobble over to the sacred stone, which was currently completely green with stank forming a miniature tornado around it.

Struggling to stand up, Randy refused to take his eyes off what the stanked teenager was doing in front of him. He didn't he notice Theresa run over to him, Debbie yelling to her to get back to where its safe. Instead, he watched as Howard made it to the Tengu Stone. Rearing back his fists, the troll-like monster then began to pound on the stone, each hit causing it to break a little bit more.

Randy grimaced more, making it to his knees, not hearing Theresa telling him that he was severely hurt and he had to stay still. Feeling pain race throughout his body with every move he made. Standing up, albeit barley, Randy started to shakily walk as fast as he could, knowing he didn't have much time. The ringing in his ears finally fading, Randy forced himself to ignore Theresa's, and even Debbie's, pleas for him to stay down. Finding what was left of his voice, Randy yelled out for his best friend to stop, though knew it was fruitless.

With each hit the stone endured, its glow got brighter and the stank surrounding it condensed around Howard. Howard continued to pummel it unwillingly, the green glow brightening until everything in the room had some form of a green tint. Seeing as it was about to break, Howard combined both hands above his hands, sure to end in a powerful hit. Seeing what he was doing, Randy continued to stumble forward, ignoring the pain in his sides and the black dots forming in his vision. Reaching his hand out in some attempt to stop his friend, Randy realized he was too late as Howard began to bring his fists down. The stank inside the boy seemed to leave his body, traveling to his hands as he made contact.

The green light immediately intensified, forcing everyone to shield their eyes from the brightness. The stank exploded outwards, knocking everyone onto their backs. The force of the explosion shook the school to its foundation, blowing the walls off the common building and forcing a section of the roof to collapse in on itself. The group could hear the terrified screams of students from around the school, followed by the stomping of hundreds of feet start and begin to grow quieter as they ran away from the commons.

Randy, Theresa, and Debbie groaned as they all sat up. While Theresa and Debbie seemed relatively okay, it was clear to see just from the small part of Randy's exposed face that this was starting to take its toll on him. Pushing that aside for the moment, the three turned to the center of the room to see what had just happened, only for their jaws to drop. Howard laid in the middle of floor, back in his human form but unconscious, probably from taking the brunt of the attack. Yet, it paled in comparison to what was in front of him.

Stank swirled around the ruins that was once the common area like a hurricane. Varying sizes of yellow shards laid all throughout the room, pieces of the now destroyed Eye of Eternity. Where the fish mosaic once was now had a large hole replacing it in the floor, leading to where the Sorcerer was trapped for 800 years. From the shards, stank began to seep out, travelling upwards to the eye of the storm. The stank then combined midair, starting to change color and shape. Like earlier, the stank formed the shape of a large bird. However, this time, the chaotic magic began to solidify, the mist turning into individual feathers. The feathers began to darken, becoming pitch black, except for the front of what turned into a head. The head started to become wrinkling, and hardening to a pale green color. Two eyes and nostrils formed on this beak, with blue markings seeming to seep through the skin in between. At the top of the head, some of the feathers became the green that Randy was all too familiar with. Spreading its two wings, the Tengu looked down at the group before beginning to cackle maniacally.

This seemed to be enough to wake Howard up, as he sat up rubbing his head in pain. "Uh, can you guys stop the room? I want to get off." He then put his hands on his mouth, spitting a bit as he opened his eyes, trying to look at his lips. "And what did I eat?" Not hearing a response from his friends, Howard looked up, only to blank as he saw the Tengu towering above him, still laughing. His face immediately became deadpan, seeming to remember what had just happened. "Oh, that's right." Howard then freaked out, scurrying backwards from the Tengu until he ran into Debbie, knocking them both to the ground.

The ominous laughter quieted down as the Tengu locked eyes with a dazed Randy. " _Finally…Freedom…_ ", it said in a breathy voice, shocking the group who had not expected the evil bird to be capable of speech.

"Y-you can talk?" Theresa asked. Though her voice came out barely above a whisper, the Tengu heard it loud and clear.

" _Oh, young lady…I can do_ so _much more than just talk…_ " As if to prove its point, the powerful winds in the room began to swirl around the group, lifting them into the air. The winds brought the four teenagers to eye level with the spirit, Randy struggling to get everyone behind him in an attempt to still protect his friends. The Tengu seemed to examine the teenagers for a minute. Then with nothing more than a twitch of its wing, the winds split in two, separating Randy from his friends. The three teenagers cried in protest, telling Randy to try and get out of there. They all stayed hovering for another moment, before the Tengu let go of its control of the winds around Theresa, Debbie, and Howard, causing the small group to fall back onto the ground.

Randy looked down, gazing in horror as his friends groaned in pain on the floor underneath him. Feeling anger begin to overpower the pain he felt, Randy pulled back his fist, hoping to get a good hit on the bird spirit even if it might not do anything. However, as he went to hit the Tengu, the green lines of Randy's suit glowed brightly before Randy stopped moving. Randy tried to raise a brow in confusion, but found he couldn't do that. He then tried to force his arm to continue its attack, but found he couldn't even make one muscle twitch. He was snapped out of confusion as the Tengu began to chuckle again. " _Not this time, Ninja…I have been your puppet for far too long…It is your turn to be powerless…_ " The bird then cawed, before spreading its wings out. Randy found his limbs snap to his side, feeling like they were glued to his body.

The Tengu then started to move its wings such as an orchestrater moves their arms in a concert hall. However, instead of beautiful music being made, glowing green symbols began to form around the Ninja suit, such as the symbols that appear when Randy puts on the mask. The symbols began to swirl around Randy's body, gaining speed with each rotation it completed. After a few moments of this, Randy's eyes widened to its maximum capacity as he saw the ribbons on the Ninja Suit start to come off of his body one by one. The ribbons travelled passed the glowing symbols before reaching the Tengu, where it seemed become absorbed by the chaotic entity.

Randy could say he had never been more scared then in that moment. As he felt the suit start to unravel from his body, as he saw the ribbons enter the Tengu's body, as he heard the screams of his friends from below him, he could only think of one word that described how he felt: powerless.

As the last piece of fabric leave his body, he felt whatever force that kept him from moving leave him, as well as the force that kept him floating in the air. He did feel the force of hitting the cracked mosaic floor of the school, though. Seeing the black spots begin to grow larger in his line of sight, Randy had to fight to watch the horrifying sight that was happening above him.

As the last ribbon of the Ninja Suit entered the bird spirit's body, the glowing symbols disappeared as the Tengu seemed to begin to convulse uncontrollably. Cawing loudly, the four teenagers couldn't look away as green glowing lines appeared from the center of Tengu's chest, spreading rapidly across its body. Its wings began to separate into four smaller wings, before the two new wings changed shape to become two arms. The feathers that made up its lower body also separated, morphing into two pairs of legs. On the creature's hands and feet talons sprouted out. Its beak disappeared, and its head became rounder. Its head soon became completely black, but as the green line made its way to the head it continued to change shape. The front elongated, before forming a new beak, except instead of the previously triangular shaped beak, this one seemed to mimic more of a pterodactyl. Two green lines morphed into oval, before two black pupils appeared in its new eyes. A green scarf materialized around its neck, the ends splitting in two. The Norisu Nine symbol appeared on its upper chest on the left side, but then suddenly flipped becoming a mirror image, and tilting so it was now a square instead of a diamond. Its transformation complete, the Tengu let out a powerful caw that blew the four teenagers backwards. " _I…AM…WHOLE!_ " It bellowed in his breathy voice before cackling madly.

The four teenagers couldn't say anything, to stunned at what they just saw to say anything. The Tengu then landed on the ground, cutting its laughter off. Looking over its new body, a slight twinkle of light caught its eye. Bending down, it picked up a piece of the Eye of Eternity, its prison for over eight centuries. However, instead of looking at it with disdain, the Tengu simply chuckled, before tucking the piece into its body.

It then continued to walk towards the group, and as it reached then, bent down and picked Randy from the ground despite the protests of his friends. " _So, this is who the Nomicon decided to bestow the Ninja Mask with this time…A shame really...You were quite formidable those many months ago…I'm almost sad that defeating you was this easy, but oh well…What is it you humans say?..._ ' _You can't have your cake and eat it too?_ ' _or something like that..._ " Despite the fact he was looking the possibly most dangerous creature in the world in the eye, Randy still glared, clenching his teeth in anger, despair, and pain.

" _I must thank you for reuniting me with my stolen feathers, Ninja…Or should I not call you that now, considering that you aren't really the Ninja anymore…?_ " Randy glared harder at the spirit at those words. The Tengu then shrugged, pretending not to notice his foe's angry look. " _Eh, doesn't matter really, does it?...Anyway, let me express my gratitude for you returning me to my full power, and then some…_ " Randy was unprepared as the Tengu reeled back its fist, before connecting it with the teenager's face, earning outraged cries from his friends. Out of the corner of his eye he could see Theresa and Debbie holding Howard back as the husky boy tried to go help his friend.

Feeling his eye start to swell, Randy suddenly felt himself being drawn back, becoming face to face again with the chaotic being in front of him. " _I want you to look me in my eyes, and realize I could crush you and your friends with the wave of my hand…_ " The Ninja-like bird then began to laugh lightly again. " _But then again, where would be the fun in that?...I've been trapped in that accursed stone for centuries, so I could go for a good fight…Though I doubt you'll be much of a challenge…_ " The Tengu's voice suddenly lost all traces of amusement, becoming deathly serious. " _It will give me the chance to watch you fail…To watch you fight a fight you have no hope of winning, and to see your face as I destroy your world, ending all that you hold most dear…To finally destroy all traces of the Norrisville Ninja…_ "

The Tengu then threw Randy back on the ground, earning a groan of pain from him. As Randy's friends surrounded him in a poor attempt to shield him, the Tengu chuckled before trying to reach into the suit. However, its eyes widened in surprise as nothing happened. It patted its body, seeming to look for something, before its eyes twinkled with a realization, an action that went unnoticed by everyone but Debbie who raised an eyebrow in confusion. Growling, the Tengu pointed a talon at Randy, who had this point was barley keeping consciousness.

" _Tonight boy…you will watch this world fall…and will know it is all_ your _fault…_ " Then with a final caw, it became surrounded by the nearby stank, before disappearing. Everything returned to normal, aside from the beaten students and ruined school. As the group looked at where the spirit once was, Randy finally couldn't stay awake any longer, feeling his eyes close from exhaustion. Falling backwards, the last things he heard were his friends' frantic screams.


	12. Chapter 12

_3:28_

 _Randy groaned as he walked down the sidewalk to his front door, clutching his aching side with his broken hand. He could hear his mom get out of the car behind him, scurrying over to her son. "Oh honey, do you need some help?", Cassie Cunningham asked her broken boy._

 _Randy managed to put a small smile on his face despite the soreness he felt. "I'm fine really mom. It's not as bad as it looks, really."_

 _Cassie walked past her son, opening up their front door while giving him a look that screamed 'Really?' "Oh yeah, it was only a broken arm, 3 bruised ribs, and a cracked tooth. Nothing to worry about."_

 _Randy's forced smile became genuine, chuckling a bit at his mother's words. "I guess when you put it that way it sounds bad", he said as he walked into the house and to the stairs._

 _His mom then sighed, closing the door as she walked in. "I just don't know what is wrong with that boy. What kind of person picks on a poor girl and then beats up someone who shows some form of chivalry. I swear, I'm going to march my way down to the school board tomorrow and demand that that boy be expelled."_

 _Randy let out a hollow chuckle. "Like that would do any good. Doug's dad is the principal of the school. Worst they'll do to him is a Saturday detention."_

 _Cassie just scoffed, clearly infuriated with the situation. Randy sighed, hating to see his mother look so mad, yet was unprepared when that simple action caused him to almost fall over in pain. Looking over, Cassie hurried over to her son, helping him over to the staircase._

 _"Oh honey, I'm so sorry. You should be getting some rest, not hear your mother rant. Go upstairs to your room while I go and make you some dinner, alright." Randy just nodded, not finding the strength to speak again._

 _Hobbling upstairs, Randy opened the door to his room, ready to pass out on his mattress after the long day. However, he did not expect to see a middle-aged man in a suit sitting on his bed. "Dad?", Randy questioned._

 _Frank Cunningham offered his son a smile, gesturing him to sit down. "Hey there, Ran the Man. Glad to see you could make it up here by yourself."_

 _Randy limped over, still confused to see his dad but a big smile on his face. "What are you doing here? Mom said that your flight wasn't getting in until tomorrow."_

 _"Well, I'd thought I'd surprise you." His smile then dropped slightly as he saw the cast on his son's arm. "I just wish that it was under better circumstances."_

 _Randy sighed, breaking eye contact with his dad in favor of looking at his cast. "Yeah, um…there was a fight. Well, more like a beating."_

 _Frank sighed. "Yeah, your mom told me all about what happened today", he said making Randy look away from his father in slight shame. A few moments of silence passed between the father and son, before Frank broke it. "This girl you saved. She wouldn't be that girl you were telling me about. What was her name...Theresa, right?"_

 _Randy, not expecting his father to ask him that question, stuttered a bit before answering. "Uh, y-yeah. Um, this guy Doug was picking on her in the hall, and I-I just kind of acted."_

 _"Yeah, I understand. You saw your crush in trouble and thought you could be the big man who swoops in and saves her, right?" Frank asked._

 _Randy opened his mouth to agree but stopped when his dad's words really reached him. He thought for a minute before speaking. "Well no. That's not why I helped her." He looked up to his dad, who looked at him with a disbelieving glint in his eye from what his son said. "Okay, well, not the only reason at least._

 _"I don't really know how to explain it. I…" He paused. "I just couldn't not help. Doug bullies people every day, and every day I'm expected to stand back and let it happen. Yet, I knew I couldn't do that. It didn't matter that it was Theresa who needed help; it could have been Howard, or Bucky, or Doug-" Out of the corner of his eye, Randy saw his dad give a confused look at the last name Randy listed. "Different guy, but hey, even if the other Doug needed help, it wouldn't matter. I just don't have it in me to be like everyone else and stand back."_

 _His father just nodded at Randy's words, seeming to think about them. Then, a moment later, he smiled. "You know, there was this one time in high school-"_

 _"High school?" Randy interrupted confused. "You never tell me stories about your time at Norrisville High."_

 _"Well to be honest, I don't remember much of it. It's kind of a haze between that summer before freshman year and graduation day. But anyway, there is one part that I do remember. It was around winter break my sophomore year, and I had missed my bus so I had to walk home. As you know, Gram, Gramps and I lived in a rough neighborhood at the time, and it was about a three hour walk so I knew I wouldn't get home till late. Anyway, after about an hour or two, and the Sun was almost gone by this point, I took a few minutes to rest my legs._

 _"So, I sat down on this box in an alley, and heard something move behind me. I turned around, and remember being so scared, because behind me was a man with a knife." At those words, Randy's eyes widened dramatically, enthralled in his dad's tale. "Anyway, I tried to make a break for it, but this guy was fast. He had jumped over the crate and tackled me to the ground. He then went to try and mug me._

 _"Let me tell you Rando, I was scared. I was completely defenseless, my body pinned under a guy and a knife to my neck. I think I may have had something in my jacket that could have helped, but couldn't reach it. I thought that this may be the end for me. But then, the man fell off of me. I looked up, wondering what happened, before I noticed someone throwing rocks at the mugger. I turned around and was surprised to see this girl I had never seen before, pelting this man and saving my life. We both ran as fast as we could away from there, before stopping when we were sure we were safe." Frank then smiled, seeming to remember the memory fondly despite the terrible event that happened. "I thanked that girl, tried to repay her for helping me, yet she brushed me off, saying she was just glad to help. She walked home with me, making sure I wouldn't get into any more trouble. The next day, she came over to make sure I was okay. I told her I was fine, and she didn't have to worry about me, but she still came by the next day. And the next day, and the next day, until eventually we became more than savior and savie." The man's smile grew a bit before he turned to Randy and spoke again. "That girl was actually your mom, Rando."_

 _Randy blinked, shocked at his dad's story. "Wow, that was a great story dad." He then frowned, realizing something. "But I don't see how it really relates to what we were talking about."_

 _Frank just chuckled at his son's words, seeming to expect them. "The point of the story son is that your mother saw someone who was in need of help and did something that mattered. She didn't know who I was, she could have walked away, she could have called someone and let them handle it, but she intervened and did something not many people would have done."_

 _Frank looked his son in the eyes, feeling his eyes begin to water a bit, something Randy didn't understand. "What you did today Randy is not something everyone would do. You saw someone who needed help and, instead of listening to your head..." As Frank said this he pointed to Randy's head, before pointing at his chest. "You listened to your heart. And I am so proud of you for that."_

 _Randy began to feel his eyes begin to water a bit at his dad's words, now understanding the tears were of pride. Frank brought his son into a hug which Randy graciously accepted. "Promise me you will keep listening to your heart, Randy," he said._

 _Randy sniffled a bit, before answering. "I will dad."_

 _The two stayed in their hug for another moment before Frank stood up. Wiping his eyes with the edge of his sleeve, he turned towards the door. "Well, I'd better go say hi to your mom. She probably will want to talk my ear off about that Doug fellow." Frank walked to the door, but before walking out, looked back once more at his son. "Rest up, Ran the Man." With those final words, he closed the door, leaving Randy alone._

 _The purple haired boy smiled, but as he blinked was confused to see his bedroom fade from his sight. Looking down, he saw he was no longer sitting on his bed, and somehow had lost his cast. Touching his side, he was shocked to find it no longer hurt, nor did any other part of his body. Randy looked around, not sure what was going on, but saw only white in every direction._

 _Stopping to see what was happening, he almost didn't hear the voice behind him. Turning around, Randy grew more confused as he saw nothing behind him. Thinking for a moment the voice was just in his head, this theory was proved false as he again heard the voice. His eyes widened this time, though, when he realized that the voice he was hearing was_ his _voice._

 _Focusing on what the voice was saying, he grew more confused when he heard what it-err-he was saying._ "It's Ninja-O-Clock?" _he repeated, wondering that if he said the sentence it would miraculously make sense. While he didn't suddenly know what it meant, something did happen. The voice spoke again, this time louder. "_ Believe in the weapon that is in the suit." _As Randy heard those words, Randy's eyes widened when he saw a group letters float out from the white expanse, before grouping around Randy. Looking down, he realized that these letters actually formed the phrase that he heard._

 _Before Randy could dwell on what was happening, he heard his voice say something else. "_ Beware the enemy who wears a hero's mask." _Like before, the phrase flew from the air, before wrapping around a portion of Randy's body. And it then happened again. "_ The best way to avoid an attack, is to avoid an attack." _And it kept happening, each time a new phrase appearing out of nowhere and attaching itself to him._

"Respect is the key that opens all doors."

"The gain is rarely worth the loss."

"A problem at a distance may be a solution up close."

 _After what seemed like hours the last phrase was spoken, and Randy watched as it wrapped around his head. Though he knew he should have been panicking, he felt strangely calm. It was like with every phrase that he heard, he grew less nervous and was gaining some form of control. Looking at the phrases on his body, Randy noticed a mirror standing behind him for some reason. Walking over to it, he was surprised at who stared back._

 _The purple-haired, video game playing, D-average teenager didn't stare back at him in his favorite hoodie. Instead, the words seemed to form a suit around the teen, which almost made him look like, though it sounds silly, a ninja. Staring him in the face didn't look like Randy Cunningham, yet for some reason he knew it was him. Just a different version of him. Randy smiled at his reflection, before yelling as he felt the ground disappear from under his feet, making him disappear from the white world._

Randy sat up fast, before gripping his torso in pain. "Yep, that was a mistake." Randy grunted. Randy laid back down, trying to alleviate some of the pain he felt. However, as he laid back down, he realized that he no longer was on the hard floor of the commons area. Opening his eyes, he saw that he was on a stretcher, a pillow placed where his head should go. Looking up, he saw some first aid kits and other medical equipment spread out around him, and by his feet two doors opened to show the world outside. His eyes widened in realization when he realized he must be in an ambulance.

Getting up, this time more carefully, Randy limped outside, only to feel his face go pale at what he saw. Norrisville High was in ruin, where the commons once was now lay a pile of rubble and the rest seeming to have cracks spreading along the walls. The carnival around the school was destroyed, the rollercoaster and Ferris Wheel tipped over and lying on the ground surround by busted stands and tents. Along the street, ambulances were lined up tending to injured students and teachers.

"Cunningham!" Randy was snapped out of his stupor from hearing someone yell his name. Looking over, he was relieved to see Howard, Theresa and Debbie running over to him looking relatively unharmed. The teen then grunted, feeling his best friend give him a hug. "I'm so glad to see you're okay. Would not want to be the one to explain that one to your mom." Randy just chuckled, before returning the hug.

Letting go, Randy yelped in pain when he felt a jab hit him. Looking over, he gave a slight glare to Debbie, who stood looking a mix of worried and annoyed. "What were you thinking you idiot?! Were you _trying_ to get yourself killed?"

Randy chuckled. "Good to see you're okay too Debbie." The short girl kept her glare but managed to put a small smile on her face. Smiling a bit, Randy looked over to see Theresa come over and begin checking Randy over.

"Are you okay? The paramedics said you may have broken a few ribs, and possibly have a slight concussion," the baton twirler said worriedly.

Randy smiled, taking the girl's hands into his own. "I'm fine Theresa, really." Theresa's worried face grew a smile as she looked into Randy's eyes. After a moment of the two looking at each other, they were interrupted by Howard clearing his throat, reminding them of the issue at hand. Randy smiled sheepishly at his best friend, before turning back to the school. "So, what's the plan now guys?" He waited a moment for someone to say an idea but was surprised when he didn't hear anyone speak. Looking back to his friends, he was puzzled to see that their faces had become forlorn, refusing to look him in the eyes. "Guys?", Randy repeated.

Debbie sighed, deciding to be the one to speak. "Randy, there is no plan. It's over."

Randy blinked, not expecting to hear those words come the usually so confident girl. "What are you talking about. We can't give up. The Tengu is planning to attack Norrisville tonight. It is more powerful than ever and-"

"That's just it, Cunningham," Howard cut in, stepping forward. "The Tengu is not only free, but now has the Sorcerer's _and_ your powers."

Randy scoffed, not believing what he was hearing. "So what? That just means that it will be that more satisfying when we beat that bird down."

"With what, Cunningham?" Howard asked, his voice growing louder in annoyance. "The only way you defeated it before was by destroying the mask. Well news flash: the Tengu _is_ the mask now. You don't have anything that has a chance of stopping it."

Randy gaped, not believing what his friend was saying. Looking at Debbie, he could see it on her face that she believed what the ginger said. He then turned to Theresa, who had a similar expression to the blue-haired girl. "Theresa, come on. You said it yourself; this is no different from any of my other fights. The Tengu may be strong, but we can still take it down."

Theresa looked up, and Randy felt his heart break a little when he saw the hopeless look in her eyes. "Randy…I was wrong. This is so much worse than anything you have faced." She sighed, letting go of the teen hero's hand. "This monster not only has the powers of three different people, but he took your suit. I hate to say this Randy, but without it, you have no chance at stopping it." Her voice dropped to barely above a whisper before she continued. "I don't think anyone does."

Randy sat frozen, not believing what he was hearing. His best friends had basically given up all hope of defeating the Tengu. The spirit planned to destroy everything in a matter of hours, and they are saying to accept it. Randy couldn't help but feel a bit angry at them for what they said. They were giving up. They were saying to stand back. Yet, what made Randy the angriest was the fact that they were right.

The only way Randy has beat the Tengu before was by using the mask. The only way he defeated the Sorcerer was by using the mask. The only way he has been a hero to Norrisville was by using the mask. Yet, the Tengu had the mask now, and there was nothing he could do. He was no longer the Norrisville Ninja. He was back to being just Randy Cunningham. He knew the best way to survive was to listen to his friends, to get out of town and let the Tengu start its reign of terror. He knew he had no weapons, no way to protect himself, nothing. He knew he should be listening to his head. Yet…

 _"Promise me you will keep listening to your heart, Randy."_ His father's words rang in his ears, seeming to be set on a loop. The phrase repeated, as every time he thought of those words, a bit of the doubt he felt left him. He knew he should listen to his head and do the reasonable thing. But then again, when did he ever do anything reasonable?

Feeling a new sense of determination, Randy looked up from the ground and locked eyes with his friends. "No."

Theresa, Debbie, and Howard looked at Randy confused at what he said. "No…what?" Debbie asked.

"No, I'm not giving up," Randy said, shakily getting to his feet despite the pain that lingered throughout his body. "If the Tengu wants Norrisville, it'll have to go through me."

The group sighed at their friend's words. "Cunningham, stop acting like a shoob and think about this. You have-"

"No Howard, listen to me," Randy cut his best friend off, surprising him. "I don't care that I don't have any weapons, or that the Tengu has three different sets of powers, or that I probably have no honking chance of winning this battle." Randy then reached into his jacket and pulled out the Nomicon, setting it down on the stretcher for his friends to see. "The Nomicon gave me the opportunity to be the Ninja, but it didn't make me a hero. I know I am outmatched, but as long as I'm standing I won't let anyone get hurt when I can do something about it." His eyes hardened a bit before he looked back at where the commons area used to be. "I refuse to stand back."

Theresa, Howard, and Debbie all stared at Randy in a state of awe. Debbie can remember just yesterday talking bad about Randy and how much of a loser he can be. Yet, now she realizes just how much she had misjudged the freshman. Randy may be a lot of things: lazy, immature, awkward, just to name a few. Yet the one thing he was not was a loser.

Howard stared at his best friend, amazed at how his friend felt. He always knew Randy was a great guy; he couldn't count how many times the purple haired teen had put his neck out to help him. Howard knew that the Nomicon chose Randy for a reason, and while he may joke about how much he messes up, he knows the book made the right choice to make his best friend a hero. However, looking at him right now with determination burning in his eyes, Howard realized that the book didn't make Randy a hero; he made himself one.

Theresa's awed face soon formed a smile. Throughout that day, she had seen Randy be beaten down time after time, something that would break any normal person's will. Yet, she knew Randy Cunningham was no normal person; he was something truly special. Someone who didn't fear what was coming, who was willing to sacrifice himself to save people he didn't even know. She smiled as she saw the hero she knew Randy was.

The purple haired teen looked back at his friends, smiling slightly when he saw his speech got through to him. "So, are you guys in or out?"

Debbie was the first one to speak, stepping forward with a stoic look. "You are one special kind of nuts, Randy Cunningham." Her serious face then grew a smile. "Let's hope that whatever you have planned is as crazy as you."

Randy smiled as Debbie stood beside her new friend before looking back at Howard and Theresa. The baton twirler stepped forward net, smiling. "It's really nice to see the real Randy Cunningham again." Randy blushed at those words but smiled a bit more at his crush's words.

As Theresa stood next to Randy, all three of them looked at Howard, who seemed to be in deep thought. "Howard?" Randy asked, actually worrying a little about whether his best friend was going to stand by him or not.

The ginger teen stood there for a moment before speaking. "You do realize that this is by far the wonkest idea you've ever had, right."

Randy shrugged. "Yeah, probably."

Howard continued. "And that if we do this, we probably won't survive to brag about it at school next year."

Randy chuckled. "To be fair, we wouldn't be able to do that anyway."

Howard stayed still, seeming to think for a few more moments. Then, he let a small smile come to his face before sticking out an arm towards Randy. "Well, I'd better stick with you. Besides, if it weren't for me you would have been shoobed by the first week. Can't let you go and get yourself killed before summer vacation, now can I?"

Randy nervous frown once again became a smile as he touched his fist to Howard's fist. "Who else will buy you food at Greg's?" The two friends then did their signature handshake as the two girls watched. Once they finished, all four friends smiled at each other, before Randy spoke. "So, any ideas on how we are going to defeat the Tengu?"

Howard, Theresa, and Debbie's smiles all fell off their faces. "Wait," Howard started. "Are you telling me that you just gave that whole speech without any honking idea on how we can beat this thing?"

Randy shrugged sheepishly as this flaw was pointed out. "I was kind of hoping that I would get an idea in the moment."

While Theresa sighed and Howard did a literal sweat-drop, Debbie put a finger to her chin in thought, something from earlier coming back to her. "Actually, I may have something." When Randy, Howard and Theresa turned to look at her, she continued. "Right before the Tengu left, it was looked like it was looking for something."

"Looking for something? Like what, something in the room?" Theresa asked.

Debbie shook her head at what Theresa asked. "No, more like something on it. It had that face of when someone thinks they brought something with them, but when they go to look for it they realize they forgot it somewhere."

"But it had just escaped. Did it grab anything after taking the Ninja suit from Randy?" Theresa asked. The four teens thought about that, wondering what could the most powerful creature on the planet still need?

Randy thought about what Debbie said. It was trying to look for something on its body, but what could it have had on its possession. When it was trapped in the Eye of Eternity, the only thing it had were the feathers on its back. The second it was free, it just took the suit and left Randy an ominous threat. It couldn't have gotten any weapons in that short-

Something in Randy's head clicked. It couldn't get any weapons. That was it! In his line of sight, Randy could see doodle letters form, before becoming a phrase he had heard before. " _Knowledge is the key_ ", he said out loud alerting his friends as arrows were drawn pointing to the Nomicon. "By cheese, that's it!"

"Uh…did we just miss something?" Howard asked, not sure why his bro looked so excited all of the sudden.

Randy grin grew as he heard Howard's question. "Howard, remember the first time I Ninja'd out? When I fought the Krackenstein the first time."

Howard raised an eyebrow at his friend's question. "Uh yeah, but what does that have to do with anything?"

Randy ignored the question, instead asking another of his own. "How would you say I did that day?"

Howard's confused face seemed to slightly morph into an amused one as he chuckled thinking back to how the Ninja had fought. "Oh man, you were terrible. You could barely hit the thing, let alone destroy it. You had to trap it in the boy's bathroom for cheese sake. Not to mention at the time you could barely use the suit and-" Howard's amusement quickly changed to understanding. "Wait, are you saying what I think you're saying?" he asked.

"Saying what?!" Debbie exclaimed, not liking being kept out of the loop.

Randy turned to the blue haired before answering her question. "It doesn't know how to use the suit."

Theresa and Debbie stared at him confused for a second, before Debbie spoke again. "What do you mean it doesn't know how to use the suit?"

Randy quickly reached out and grabbed the nearby 800-year-old book of wisdom off the stretcher before continuing. "The first time I used the suit to fight, I had no idea on how to do anything besides a few flips. I could barely even use a smokebomb, until…" Randy pointed to the book with one of his hands. "I started to use the Nomicon. This book taught me everything I know about using the suit. Without it, I'm pretty sure I would have never figured it out."

"So," Theresa began. "If I'm understanding you, then the Tengu won't know how to use the suit until it gets the Nomicon."

"Exactly," Randy said, smiling a bit.

"Okay, while that's well and good and all, how does that help us beat this thing?" Debbie blatantly asked.

Randy's smile became a smirk. "Because, my dear Kang, we now have Tengu bait." All three of his friends' eyes widened as they heard what Randy said. Before they could question him though, he continued. "We know the Tengu is going to come back tonight to destroy Norrisville, but I bet we can lure it into some kind of trap using the Nomicon."

"Okay, but what do you propose we do when we lure the Tengu where we need to get it? We have no way of defeating it," Debbie pointed out, already not liking this plan.

"Yes we do," Randy said, before reaching into his pocket and pulling out yellow shard.

"The Tengu Stone?" Theresa asked. "How's that going to help? It wasn't able to keep the Tengu trapped before, what makes you think it'll work this time?"

Randy's smile fell a bit as he sighed. "I don't. But, I'm hoping we can keep it trapped long enough to get it far away from Norrisville."

"Okay, let's say that works. How do you plan to trap it again? Like I've said before, the only way you have beat the Tengu before was by destroying the mask," Howard pointed out.

"Exactly," Randy said. "Like you said Howard, the mask is the key to trapping the Tengu. But remember, you also pointed out that now the Tengu _is_ the Ninja mask. So if we can somehow wound the Tengu enough-"

"We could destroy it." Debbie realized. "That actually may be crazy enough to work. Good job Cunningham." Randy smiled at the compliment. Turning to Theresa and Howard, they could tell they also agreed by the looks on their faces. "Yet, there is one problem." Randy looked back at the blunette when she continued speaking. "The Tengu is still really powerful even without the Ninja suit. For this plan to work, we'll need some kind of weapon to wound it. Not to mention something to distract it. Who has that kind of firepower?"

Randy sighed, not because he didn't have an idea, but because he wasn't particularly a fan of it. "I may have an idea for that…but it's not exactly a good one," Randy said cryptically, puzzling his friends.

"What do you mean by 'not a good one'?" Debbie asked. Randy sighed, but didn't answer her question.

"Debbie," Randy said instead, turning to the girl. "You are good with puzzles, right?"

Debbie blinked, unsure if she heard the question correctly. Nonetheless, she answered. "Yeah, why?"

Randy nodded, throwing her the yellow shard in his hand. "Good, because we'll need someone to fix the Eye of Eternity. You and Theresa go back to the school and somehow put this back together."

Debbie nodded, now understanding what Randy was trying to say and agreeing to his plan. Theresa soon did the same. Seeing the two girls were on board, Randy then turned to Howard. "Howard, I need you to try and get everyone as far away from the school as possible before the Tengu comes back. We can't risk anyone getting hurt."

Howard saluted, showing that he accepted this duty. Randy smiled, before turning around. "I'll be back in bit. Hopefully with some backup."

As Randy began to run away, Theresa called out another question. "Wait, where are you going?"

Randy's eyes seemed to flash with determination as he looked towards a pyramid-shaped building in the distance. "To get the only person I know who has the tools to fight something like this." And before anyone could ask him what he meant, Randy ran off.

 _4:53_

"Got any kings?" the mustached man asked, a series of cards held in his mechanical hand.

The bespectacled man across from him smirked, before pointing to the stack of cards between them. "Go fish."

The mustached man growled at that before throwing his cards on the concrete floor. "I hate this game!"

"Then why did you ask me to play it with you?" the other man asked, raising an eyebrow while stating his query.

"What else is there to do here?!", the man with the robotic arm yelled again, this time attracting attention from one of their 'neighbors.'

"Hey, keep it down in there McCreep, or else I'll give you something to do!" a gruff voice called from behind the cell walls before returning to whatever they were doing before.

Hannibal McFist grit his teeth in anger at his fellow prisoner's words, but kept his mouth shut in a rare moment of competence. He however did glare when he saw Viceroy smirk at his former employer before deciding to gather the cards that now lay on the floor of their cell.

This wasn't the first of McFist's freak outs since he got to prison; heck, it wasn't even the first of the day. Ever since the two's plan to destroy the Ninja had been exposed, the man had lost everything. He lost all credibility in Norrisville, everyone boycotting his products and services. McFist Industries had been shut down indefinitely, at least until a 'proper' CEO could be found. Marci was forced to leave him in order to protect that brat Bash. And to top it all off, he was sentenced to life in prison, with only Viceroy for company. This was truly the lowest point for him, and it was all thanks to that no-good, self-righteous, pajama clad-

"Ninja?" Viceroy's voice snapped McFist out of his thoughts. He raised an eyebrow, confused on how the scientist had known what he was thinking of. Before he could ask, however, Viceroy raised his arm and pointed a finger behind Hannibal. Confused, McFist turned around only to gape at what he saw. Because from the shadows of the prison hallway, the Norrisville Ninja stepped into light.

"McFist, I need your help."


	13. Chapter 13

_4:55_

For a few moments, no one said a word. Randy stood there, clothed in a makeshift Ninja suit consisting of a black jacket, a pair of black jeans, a red scarf, and a ski mask. While it may not give him any powers, it did hide his identity and let people knew who he was supposed to be. Viceroy stared blankly at the Ninja, for once not having a smart remark as he was too baffled at what his foe had just said. And McFist…

"Eh, I'm sorry, I think I may have something in my ears," McFist said, sticking a finger in his ear to clean it out. "I thought that you said that you needed my help."

"Yes, that is what I said," Randy said, already not liking where this was going.

"Oh, okay," the former gazillionaire said. Everyone was quiet for a moment after that, before…"WHAT?!" McFist's scream made Randy cringe, frantically looking around him to make sure none of the guards had heard them, as well as snapping Viceroy out of his trance.

"Shh! Keep your voice down!", Randy whisper-yelled, though it fell on deaf ears.

"Why would I ever help you!", McFist yelled again. "It's because of you that I lost _everything_! And now I'm stuck in a jail cell for the rest if my life with only _Viceroy_ of all people for company!" The former-gazillionaire then turned to his cellmate, a sheepish look on his face. "Eh, no offense."

"Offense taken," Viceroy responded, though was ignored by both the Ninja and McFist.

"While that may be true, McFist, if you don't help me the world as we know may cease to exist," Randy said, undeterred by McFist's animosity.

The amputee's anger quickly changed to confusion at the teen hero's words. "What the juice are you talking about?"

Randy sighed. "There is a beast out there right now, something stronger than you, stronger than me, stronger than the Sorcerer. It's out there planning on attacking the town tonight, and the only way I'll ever beat it is by using the weapons you used to try and destroy me." The Ninja then looked down, surprising McFist that his enemy would break eye contact. "This creature, the Tengu…it stole my suit. "

"Oh, so that's why you look like a failed Ninja cosplay," Viceroy commented.

"Thank you, Viceroy. You always know exactly what to say," Randy said sarcastic ally, giving the mad scientist a half-hearted glare before looking back at his incarcerated enemy. "Without you, McFist…I can't win. Please, I know you hate me, but find it in your heart to be the bigger man and help me."

McFist looked the teenage boy in the eye, seeming to be considering his words. Randy felt a flicker of hope, happy to see his arch-foe wouldn't let their mutual animosity stop him from doing what's right. Then McFist laughed.

"Help you?!" the mustached man said between laughs. "Oh, that is rich!"

"Wait, what? You're saying no?! How can you say so?! The world is literally about to end!" Randy said, causing McFist to scoff.

"Please, what has the world ever done for me? Locked me in a cell and thrown away the key, that's what!"

Randy spluttered disbelievingly. "This is what that this is about? Oh my cheese, I cannot believe you! How can you…" Randy cut himself off, putting a hand to the bridge of his nose as if he was developing a headache, before turning back to his former foes. "Okay, fine, I'll talk to the judge. I can probably get you out of here by the end of the month. That sound fair?"

Viceroy smiled wide at that, seeing almost ready to jump from excitement from the offer. The smile became a look of horror, however, as McFist laughed in the Ninja's face. "Ha! You wish!"

"Hannibal, what are you doing?! Take the deal!" Viceroy yelled somewhat frantically.

McFist ignored his companion, staring into the annoyed eyes of his worst enemy. "You expect me to spend another 2 weeks in this miserable place!"

Randy grinded his teeth, feeling his left eye twitch a bit. He did not have time for this. "Okay fine, by the end of this week. That's only 2 days away. That's literally the best I can do. Now do we have a deal." The Ninja put his hand through the bars for a handshake, but McFist just turned away from him.

"The answer is still no."

"What?!" Viceroy yelled. "What are you doing?!"

"I'm going to have to agree with Viceroy on this one? Why the juice would you not agree to this? You'll get your freedom back! Isn't that what you want?!" Randy yelled, his annoyance finally getting the better of him.

"Of course, that's what I want!" McFist yelled back.

"Then why are you saying no!"

"Because I can never be free!" At the former billionaire's statement, Randy and Viceroy closed their mouths, not expecting him to say anything like that.

"What?" Randy asked after a couple of minutes.

The angry expression on McFist's face morphed into something Randy couldn't quite identify. "I can no longer be free Ninja. I lost that privilege the moment the cops slapped the handcuffs on me. Now, even if I get out of this cell, even if I can wake up tomorrow in a bed not made of concrete where I have to endure Viceroy's snoring FOR NIGHTS ON END-"

"It is not my fault; I have a deviated septum!" Viceroy cried, although was ignored.

McFist gave a final glare at the mad scientist before turning back to the Ninja. "I lost my freedom the second you put me in here."

Randy's eyes widened a bit more as he realized what the expression on McFist's face was: sadness. His widened eyes narrowed suddenly, becoming the angriest look McFist or Viceroy had ever seen from the hometown hero.

"Are you honking kidding me?! This is all because of you feeling sorry for yourself? Because you got caught trying to rule the world?! That…that…" Randy took a breath, having to look away from the two men to compose himself. He's not sure if all of this is just coming from what the mustached man had said, or if it might be the stress of the situation getting to him, or if it's just the entire weight of the day's events finally fully hitting him, but something was making his blood boil and he is just lucky enough to have an outlet to take it out on.

Letting out a humorless laugh, he turned back, staring his former enemy right in his eyes. "You don't have to right to pity yourself, McFist. _I_ didn't put you in here, okay. It was you and your insane plans that did. And right now, you should be _begging_ to help out, not because you can get something out of it or make yourself feel better, but so you can apologize for what you did. How you tried to ruin lives just to get powers. How you traumatized so many people every day! Yet…you would rather give the town a lesson that _you_ are somehow in the wrong."

McFist and Viceroy sat in tense silence as Randy stood there, staring at the once powerful man. He then turned around and began heading back into the shadows. However, he stopped before leaving and without turning around spoke. "A lot of people are going to be hurt, or maybe worse, and you might be the only way in saving them. I hope that's worth your lesson." With that Randy walked further into the shadows, struggling to think of a new plan to defeat the Tengu. However, he stopped when he heard a long sigh come from behind him. Turning back around, he rose an eyebrow in surprise seeming an annoyed looking McFist staring back at him.

"Fine, if you're going to get all dramatic about it." Before randy could comment, McFist grabbed his metallic hand, surprising the brain inside, and twisted in sideways. Pulling on it, the hand expanded away from the arm, attached by a pole in between, and the orb containing the brain was pushed out, landing in McFist's actual hand. He then held it out through the bars of his cell before speaking. "The fuzz took away a lot of my stuff when I got caught. Luckily, they weren't able to find a secret bunker I had installed just for this occasion.

"Secret bunker?", Randy asked as he apprehensively took the brain, becoming a bit grossed out when it blinked at him.

McFist waved it off dismissively, almost looking like he wanted to laugh. "Oh, nothing major. Just a little something I had ready for when I busted out of here to enact my revenge. But seeing as the fate of the world is in danger, seems like a good enough time to use it as any." He then pointed at the brain, who at this point had gotten bored of what was happening and was watching a nearby fly. "Anyway, go to that fake fudge factory on the edge of town, the one I made that one time for whatever plan Viceroy had."

"Excuse me?" Viceroy asked, but again was ignored.

"That brain will be able to get you in without setting off any of the…defenses we have in place." Randy didn't know why but he didn't like the way McFist said defenses. Nevertheless, he nodded his head before putting the brain in his jacket pocket.

"Thank you McFist. You are doing the right thing."

McFist's face scrunched up in disgust as the comment as he recoiled. "Blegh! I hate doing the right thing! Just go!" Randy rolled his eyes and began running off, but not before McFist said one final thing. "And Ninja…good luck."

As the Ninja made his way out of the prison, McFist groaned and put his head in his hand. "Ooooh, I cannot believe I just helped the Ninja. I feel like a fraud!"

Viceroy however had a contemplative look on his face as he thought of something. "Hannibal, who's brain is that anyway?" The former millionaire shot up, not expecting that question. Especially since, frankly, he didn't know either.

 _6:28_

"Are you finished yet?

"No."

"What about now?"

"No."

"Now?"

"No, Howard."

"Well then hurry up!" 

"I'm trying, but it's hard when an idiot is breathing down your neck!"

Howard looked taken aback at what Debbie said, before leaning in to whisper in her ear. "Look, she may not be doing much, but there's no reason to call Theresa an idiot." Unfortunately, the baton twirler had heard what the husky boy had said and reared back to give him a piece of her mind.

However, Debbie then sat up, looking excited. "And finished!" Carefully, she picked up the remade Eye of Eternity. Sure, it may have cracks running all along its body and glue was dripping out of odd places, but it should get the job done.

"Finally! Took you long enough Kang," Howard said, taking the mystical orb from the short girl's hands, giving it a look. Debbie just rolled her eyes, knowing right now she shouldn't be getting into an argument with her teammate, and simply gave herself a mental reminder to punch him later.

"Yeah, yeah whatever. Is everyone away from the school?"

Howard waved her off, still looking at the Eye of Eternity. "Yep. Nobody wants to stick around here longer than they need, especially on the last day of school. And after a little bit of the old Weinerman charm on some people checking out to the damage to the school, they were more than happy to leave for the day. It was actually pretty easy. All I had to do was-" Howard stopped talking abruptly as he turned the Tengu Stone over, looking puzzled at the puzzle. "Uhh, Debbie?"

"What?" Debbie growled ignored, having ignored Howard a while ago so she and Theresa could start looking for any makeshift weapons.

"Why is there a piece missing?"

"What?!" Debbie shrieked before sprinting towards Howard and ripping the orb out of his hands. She gasped as she realized the boy was right; a part of the orb was in fact not there. Beginning to panic, she started to look around. "Where is it?"

"Debbie, calm down-" Theresa told her, but was caught off by the blunette.

"Don't tell me to calm down! We need to find that quickly before the Tengu gets here!"

"Chill out Kang." Howard said, putting an arm around her shoulders, making her a bit more annoyed. "It's got to be around here somewhere. And besides, the Tengu isn't even here yet. We have loads of time to find the piece and set up the trap."

All of the sudden, the remaining sunlight began to darken around the three teens. Looking up, they're eyes widened as they saw a cloud of stank begin to form, blocking out the sun. As the cloud grew, a bone-chilling laugh begin to fill the air as well and a dark shadow was seen from inside the cloud. The two girls turned and gave Howard annoyed looks, who simply looked at the cloud with a deadpan expression. "Why do I open my mouth?"

The glowing green cloud slowly began to swirl around, rapidly picking up speed before turning into a tornado. Howard, Debbie, and Theresa gasped as the wind picked up, slowly beginning to be sucked into it. Luckily, Howard was able to snatch onto an especially heavy piece of rubble, with Theresa and Debbie grabbing his legs as to not be sucked into the deadly cyclone. "Look out! It's a stanknado!", Howard yelled in terror.

As the newly dubbed stanknado touched down into what was once the Norrisville High commons and the ominous laughing grew louder, the gas exploded outwards as well as a wave of energy, sending Howard, Debbie, and Theresa flying into the nearby broken wall. The three teens got to their hands and knees, groaning in pain, they looked up to a ghastly sight. The stanknado seemed to have to have taken some of the nearby rubble and turned it into a podium where the Tengu now stood. Through the thinning green fog, they could see the cackling magical entity surrounded by green static as it looked around, before going quiet.

" _Oh, no…no…no….This will not do at all…No, there needs to be a crowd, don't you think?..._ " The Tengu said, voice echoing down towards the three wary teens.

"Uh, well maybe not. Yeah, maybe this should be just be like a small group thing," Theresa began, trying to keep any innocent people out of this.

"Yeah, totally." "Makes sense to me" Debbie and Howard agreed. However, the Tengu just laughed as the fog picked up again, swirling around it.

" _No, all_ special _events deserve an audience…_ " The Tengu said, unnerving the group with the emphasis it put on the word special. " _And I think the end of the world counts as a special event!..._ " As it finished speaking, the green fog shot out in multiple directions, hitting the nearby buildings and trees. As it made contact, swirling green portals opened up, before people began to fall out. Howard, Theresa, and Debbie's eyes widened in shock as in seconds hundreds of confused Norrisvillians appeared. Their confused expressions soon turned to ones of horror as they saw the evil spirit towering over them laughing.

" _Ah ha ha ha, now this is more like it!...Now, come out Ninja!...It's time to face the future!..._ " The Tengu gasped as the civilians looked around, now searching for their hero. However after a few moments the civilians began murmuring in confusion as they realized he was nowhere to be found.

Howard, Debbie and Theresa were among the confused, a tad surprised Randy hadn't used that moment for a dramatic entrance. Sure, they had no idea where he had gone or what his plan was, but they knew he knew that this was a time sensitive matter. So, shouldn't he have gotten back from wherever he gone to?

The Tengu began to laugh again, redrawing the attention of everyone below it. " _Just as I thought…It seems that without his powers, your savior has abandoned you…What a shame, I really was looking forward to destroying him…_ " The Norrisvillians gasped, not believing the Ninja wasn't coming to save them. His three friends however cursed his terrible timing and hoped he would hurry up. The beast then shrugged before lighting its fist alight with a green fire. " _Oh well, which one of you wants to die first?..._

The civilians all took a few involuntary steps back at those words, understandably scared. Theresa, Debbie and Howard were the only ones not to, getting into defensive positions, or in Howard's case a ridiculous kung fu stance.

The Tengu surrounded itself with stank, rising into the air as the fire spread to both hands, burning brighter. However, before the monster could do damage, it was halted by something hitting it in its face. No longer laughing and extinguishing its hands, it reached down and was caught off guard to see that it had been attacked by a t-shirt. Before it could ponder what this meant though, a familiar voice rang out from behind the crowd. "Hey ugly!"

All the surrounding people turned and gasped at the sight before them. Filled in the streets and standing on the rooftops were an army of McFist's old robots. Robo-apes, chainsaw werewolves, punk-bots, robo-lizards, Jack Hammer, the Krackenstein, everything Viceroy ever built to destroy the Ninja stood ready to fight. Flying in the air above all of them was Randy decked out in the Lucius O'Thunderpunch armor, its t-shirt cannons glistening in the setting sunlight. "You called?" Randy asked rhetorically.

The Tengu smirked, lighting the colorful shirt on fire as it stood straight. " _So, you actually had the audacity to come back…And you even brought an army to back you up…_ " The spirit laughed a little in a very patronizing way. " _How cute…Well two people can play at this game…_ " Then with no warning, the Tengu shot an enormous blast of stank over the crowd. As they breathed it in, some of the civilians started to convulse uncontrollably before turning into monsters, causing those uninfected to run away in safety. After a few seconds, over half the crowd was stanked. Luckily Howard, Debbie, and Theresa were not among that majority.

Randy glared at his enemy underneath his armor as the Tengu began to cackle, sensing his anger. " _So, tell me Ninja: how do you feel your toys will handle against a_ real _army?..._ "

Randy's glare increased behind the armor's faceplate as he put away the t-shirt cannons. "You said you wanted a fight Tengu. So let's finish this."

The Tengu's humor filled expression quickly morphed to a very serious one, as the powerful villain relit its palms and its new army gathered around it. " _Well, well, well, looks like we have a brave one here…Fine Ninja, if you are so ready to meet your demise, then I suppose we should start this final battle…_ "

The Norrisvillians scrambled away, not wanting to be caught in the crossfires of what was going to be a brutal fight. Both sides' armies came closer, ready to fight for their leader. Howard, Theresa and Debbie joined Randy's army, picking up pieces of rubble to fight with since they didn't have any weapons.

The Tengu and Randy flew silently for another moment, staring each other directly in the eyes. Then the chaotic spirit let a small smirk come to its face, one Randy didn't miss. " _Let the best ninja win…_ " And with those words, the battle begun.


	14. Chapter 14

_6:52_

A video camera came to life, the screen flickering in and out of static for a few moments before finally focusing on a horrific site. The street in front of Norrisville High was a warzone, the corrupted forms of what were once Norrisvillians and the twisted creations from McFist Industries battled, both sides taking plenty of hits but neither side going down. Civilians ran around the street, trying to avoid falling debris, areas where missed attacks hit, and the armies themselves. Up above, the Ninja, decked out in the Lucius O'Thunderpunch armor, was seen taking out some of the monsters that were attacking people who were at the wrong place at the wrong time. In the distance, the Tengu stood on its podium, seeming to be watching the battle unfold with no emotion on its face. Every once in a while, it would shoot stank at another Norrisvillian, transforming them into another member of its army.

The camera panned over slightly before refocusing on Heidi Weinermann, who from the look on her face was terrified by what was happening around her. "Attention, peep diddlies, major news flash. Right now, I'm here at NHS, and it seems that some sort of evil spirit has stolen the Ninja's powers!" As she said this, a stray missile came her way, blowing up a nearby part of the sidewalk. Heidi threw her arms up to cover herself, while running to a different part of the street.

"It seems to have brought most of the town here and is turning them into a monster army! Our Ninja is fighting it off with some old Mcfist products, but it is incredibly dangerous around here. If anyone is getting this, get to safety! If you are some sort of agent or army-AHH!" Heidi was cut off as she was grabbed from behind and lifted into the air, dropping her phone in the process. The camera on the handheld device cracked a bit, but the viewers could still see that the one who had picked Heidi up was a stanked Principal Slimovitz, now a muscular blue giant. He brought the scared girl to his head and roared at her, eliciting another shriek from the redhead.

The goliath began to rear back to throw the junior into the distance, not seeing her as a threat worth its time, when it was hit in the back by something. Stunned, it dropped the girl and turned around, revealing Howard holding a bent pole behind it. "Howard?!" Heidi exclaimed, not believing her dorky little brother had actually saved her.

"Hey, no one messes with my sister but me!", Howard exclaimed, not paying attention to Heidi and instead swinging the pole at his principal again. However, this time Slimovitz was prepared for the attack and caught the pole in his hand. Ripping the weapon from the young boy's hands, he bent it a few times until it looked like a pretzel. Howard gulped as the monster dropped it and began to come towards Howard. Screaming the overweight boy bolted away, Slimovitz following behind him.

Heidi, having been trying to scoot away quietly, bolted towards her phone once her principal disappeared. Picking it up, she looked back into the camera, breath more ragged and a bit of sweat visible from stress. "Send help! We don't know how much longer the Ninja can hold these baddies off without his powers! If anyone out there is listening-the army, personal bodyguards, that ghost kid from Illinois-please come soon! This is Heidi Weinermann signing off!" As she finished her broadcast, a stray missile from one of the robots came her way again, but this time threw her off her feet. The camera flew out of her hands and again crashed onto the pavement, but this time sustained much worse damage. The feed began to become static as it showed Heidi running out of the way from a Chainsaw Werewolf and a platypus-looking monster battling it out. The last thing that was seen was the werewolf being tossed by the monster, landing on the phone, and then a black screen.

 _6:54_

Debbie and Theresa shrieked as they ducked behind a nearby tree, a dragon-esque monster having shot a stream of fire in their direction before being tackled by some Robo-Apes. The girls panted, Debbie quickly checking she hadn't accidently dropped the Eye of Eternity while they had fled, which she hadn't. After the two armies began fighting, they had tried to take out some monsters, but their improvised weapons had been destroyed in the first few seconds, forcing them to retreat.

The girls could honestly say they hadn't expected _this_ to be Randy's plan. Sure, the guy may have had some out of the box ideas in the past, but this was on a whole other level. The shoob hadn't even given them a heads up for cheese sake, something Debbie made sure to yell at him for when she saw him next.

As they regained their breath, Theresa gave Debbie a sheepish look. "Well, you have to give Randy credit for his creativity," Theresa said, trying to be an optimist.

Debbie gave an annoyed snort in response. "I'll make sure they put that on his tombstone." She then sighed, checking her pockets for something. "Where the juice is that last piece?! This thing will be useless without it!"

"Debbie calm down-"

"Don't tell me to calm down!"

"Oh, we are not doing this again!" Theresa yelled, taking the Tengu Stone out of her best friend's hands. "Look, the piece has to still be somewhere in the commons…" Theresa began, trying to look hopeful, before a thought occurred to her. "Unless of course that Stanknado picked it up. Then it could be anywhere here. And what if a robot or a monster got to it; then it could be underneath tons of metal or flesh-"

"You are not filling me with confidence Theresa!" Debbie said, cutting off her friend. Shaking her head, the baton twirler refocused.

"Right, sorry. The point is it has to be somewhere around here. All we have to do is find it."

Debbie crossed her arms, clearly not impressed by her friend's plan. "And how do you suppose we do that?"

"Uh, well…." Theresa started, not quite sure herself. "Maybe Randy can scan for it with that armor he has on? Or maybe if we get close enough to the piece, it will attract to the orb like a magnet? Or…" Debbie continued to give Theresa a deadpan look, causing the girl to stop talking and give the blunette a look of annoyance. "Okay why don't we hear your plan, Ms. Knows-Everything-And-Then-Some?"

Debbie sighed, feeling this task may actually be impossible. However, before she could voice her concerns, she heard the cracking of wood behind her. She and Theresa looked at what was causing the noise only to see the tree they were hiding behind be ripped from the ground by the Dancing Fish. As one of the members threw the tree into the distance, the other members circled around the girls and let out a simultaneous roar.

Theresa and Debbie stood stiff for a moment, eyes wide, before Debbie broke the silence. "Well, shoob me sideways."

 _6:58_

Randy grunted as he was thrown through the air by bat-like monster, flying to the ground in a heap. Groaning, the teen hero forced his eyes to open only to see the monster flying towards him. Thinking fast, Randy activated the rocket launcher in his arm and shot, aiming at the beast's wing. The beast shrieked as it went down, unfortunately crashing into a nearby Robo-Ape and taking both out of the battle.

The armor-clad hero got to his feet, trying to regain his breath as he looked forward. Up ahead he saw the Tengu, standing and watching him expectantly. Randy growled at his adversary as he stood up. He knew defeating the Tengu wasn't going to be easy; that was why he went to McFist for help. He was sure getting together an army would distract the beast long enough to knock it down and trap it. He wasn't prepared for almost the entirety of Norrisville to be transformed into its army. He hasn't even been able to find his friends yet because of having to fight off monsters and saving civilians.

He jumped a bit as his shoulder sparked, a few wires sticking out from when he fell out of the sky. Thinking quickly, he ripped the shoulder piece away, exposing the circuits underneath but getting rid of the damaged tech. Before he could throw it away though, he a familiar scream come from behind him. Turning around, Randy saw Howard running his way being chased by the stanked form of Slimovitz.

"Howard!" he yelled, trying to catch his best friend's attention.

"Can't talk right now Ninja; kind of running for me life!" Howard yelled as he weaved between the mangled remains of destroyed robots.

The purple-haired hero quickly jumped into action, coming between Howard and Slimovitz, and threw the still sparking shoulder piece at the monster. While it didn't do much damage, it did stun the former principal long enough for Randy to come up and punch him in the face, knocking him out.

Howard, no one longer hearing anyone chasing him, turned around and that Randy had taken down his foe. The husky boy came back and began laughing at the goliath. "Ha, take that P Slimz! That's what happens when you mess with Howard Weiner-woah!" As he got closer, the beast twitched slightly, startling Howard into ducking behind Randy. When he noticed that the beast was still unconscious, he began to laugh sheepishly and backed away from the Ninja.

Randy rolled his eyes at his best friend but decided now was not the time to do their usual back and forth. "Where are Debbie and Theresa?" Randy asked instead.

Howard opened his mouth to speak but was cut off as an inhuman screech sounded off near the boys. Turning, the boys got into battle stances as they saw the Dancing Fish bolting in their directions. As Randy charged up the 'Comet Stopper' and Howard picked up a stone, intending to throw it at them, they were unprepared for the former dancers to run right past them. The boys stared as they ran off down the street, confused as to what was happening. As they heard more footsteps approaching though, they turned back around to fight whatever had apparently scared away 5 monsters, only to be surprised to see Theresa and Debbie. The girls were scratched up and covered with a bit a dirt, but still looked smugly after the Dancing Fish, holding a thick tree branch and mangled stop sign respectively.

"That's right, you better run!" Debbie screamed after them. Randy and Howard's jaws dropped, not believing what they were seeing.

"Wha-wha…how…?" Howard began, but couldn't figure out what to say.

Theresa smirked at the ginger's reaction. "Hey, you and Randy aren't the only ones who have skills."

Randy had a plethora of questions he wanted to ask, but again knew this wasn't the time to ask them. And if he hadn't known that, Debbie reminded him by smacking him with her weapon. "Hey!" he called out, not particularly hurt but surprised the blunette would do this. "What was that for?!"

"An army of McFist's inventions? Really?!" Debbie said, using her question to answer his.

"What about it? We said we were going to need something big to fight the Tengu. What's bigger than an army of robots designed to destroy the Ninja?" Randy said, surprised by the short girl's aggravation.

"You could have at least given us a head's up about what you were planning? Ever heard of text?"

"Okay, this is definitely not something we should be focusing on right now," Theresa said, stopping her friends before this argument could escalate. "We need to go on to the next phase of Randy's plan." Everyone paused at her words before turning to the armored hero. "There is another phase to this, right?"

"Of course I do," Randy said, a bit insulted they thought he may have gone into this blind (even though that was what he was kind of doing, but they didn't need to know that). "While the army was supposed to distract the Tengu long enough for us to weaken it, the plan is still the same: destroy it and trap it inside the Tengu Stone long enough to get it away from Norrisville. We just need to get the completed stone to the-"

"-Nearly completed-" Debbie cut in quickly.

"-To the commons and-I'm sorry, could you repeat that?" Randy stopped, hoping he had misheard Debbie's words.

"The stone isn't finished yet. We couldn't find the last piece…" She said, looking down a bit in embarrassment.

"Wha-Debbie! The whole plan revolves around getting that stone together!"

"Hey, chill out Cunningham. It's not Kang's fault," Howard stepped in quickly. "A lot was happening between the armies and the stanknado that it just got mixed up. So back off a bit." Though he didn't see it, Debbie smiled appreciatively at the husky boy.

Randy looked at his best friend for a moment before sighing. "You're right, you're right. It's just the stress of the situation. I'm sorry Debbie." Randy smiled as the blunette accepted the apology before looking towards where his enemy waited. "Okay, new plan then: we'll just have to find the last piece."

"How do you suppose we do that?" Theresa asked.

"We'll just have to spread out and hope we come across it."

"Out there?," Debbie asked, pointing out towards the quad where a stanked Flute Girl was currently knowing on the arm of a Robo-Ape. "And how do you suppose we even survive out there long enough to find it?"

Though no one could see it, a smirk came to Randy's face at that comment. What the group could see though was the chest plate of the O'Thunderpunch open up, revealing a few weapons residing inside. Reaching inside, Randy gave each person one of the weapons: two laser pistols for Debbie, a large taser for Theresa, and a large and heavy gun for Howard. "These are a few things I found at the place McFist kept the robots; thought they might come in handy."

"Oh oh oooohhhh, this is so bruce!" Howard shouted, not paying attention to his friends telling him to be quiet; he was way too pumped up to listen.

"You guys will go and try to find that piece around the school," Randy said, cutting off his friend before he could make any more noise. Meanwhile, I'll try and weaken the Tengu and stop it from controlling the monsters so you will have a better chance."

"Randy that's crazy, that thing is way too powerful. He'll destroy you," Debbie said, trying to reason with the hero.

"Maybe, but we can't have that thing going after anyone else; enough people have gotten hurt as it is." Randy then took a deep breath before continuing, trying not to look at his friends' worried faces. "Are you guys ready?"

Though they all wanted to argue against this, they knew they didn't have the time to sway the stubborn teen's decision. Instead, they gave off their agreements as they readied their weapons.

Randy nodded, before activating the rockets in his feet and beginning to go up. "Alright then. Then it looks like its…Robot O'Clock?" His friends grimaced at his attempt to modify his catchphrase failed, as did he when he realized what he had said. "No, nope that sounds stupid. Just forget I said that." With those final words of wisdom, Randy flew off to face his foe. And as his friends watched, they couldn't hope that he would fly back.

 _7:00_

The Tengu stood, looking over the chaos and destruction that was being committed at its very feet. It couldn't think of a word to describe how beautiful it all was. Yet, as another robot knocked down one of its creations and another monster tore a robot apart bolt by bolt, the malevolent spirit couldn't help but feel bored. It had hoped that the Ninja would have found a way past its army by now. It wasn't like he hadn't faced the sort of thing before, but it had already been 20 minutes and the beast was still just watching the battle unfold. Honestly if it was telling the truth, it was a bit disappointed.

It had seen the hero, wearing that ridiculous costume and talking to his allies a few minutes ago and saw that he was again headed its way. Maybe this time he'll make it. As he waited though, the Tengu decided it should get prepared for what was going to be a truly intense clash.

A chuckle escaped it lips, not being able to contain the mirth it felt from its joke.

The beast glanced down, watching as one of the many lines on its body once again glowed with barely contained power. The power of three of the most powerful beings in this dimension coursed through its veins; the primal powers it had been spawned with, matched with the Sorcerer's control of Chaos and the Ninja's control over Peace should have made it a god.

It focused, trying to summon the powers that were once gifted to its enemy, and growled when nothing happened. That was the problem…it _should_ have been a god. However, it was unable to access the Ninja's powers. It lacked the knowledge to control the force it had spent its life trying to destroy. Yet, that would all change by tonight.

It saw the Ninja dodge another monster up ahead, punching it towards the Earth before continuing his flight. The Tengu would guess that, without any more distractions, he should be here in under a minute. It looked up at the setting Sun and then back at its army of monsters before sighing; it didn't have all day for this. It was a busy spirit after all, and still had a planet to destroy.

With a flick of its wrist, all of the monsters in the air began to turn back to humans, falling downwards and letting the Ninja have a clear path towards it. It could sense this angered the Ninja, seeing the people he swore to protect possibly falling into the vicious battle below without any way in defending their selves and possibly sustain serious injuries from a fall at such a great height. At least the Tengu made sure they weren't too high up to perish; it wanted as many as possible around to see what was to come and that couldn't happen if everyone was dead.

It looked back at the armor-clad hero, who seemed to be flying faster towards where the spirit was, a large cannon now on its back charging up to fire. The Tengu sighed once more in disappointment; if this was the best this so-called hero had to offer this was going to be over much sooner than it expected.

" _Oh well_ ", it thought, lighting it hands once again on fire. It was a very busy spirit after all and didn't have all day for its enemy to step up its game. As the teen came closer, the laser on its back charged all the way and about to fire, the Tengu rose into the air, charging its own attack.

It was time for it to become a god.

 _7:03_

Theresa looked from behind a tree, trying to see how many monsters there were towards the back of the school. She could hear Debbie behind her, checking to make sure nothing had followed them after leaving Howard. Seeing the coast was clear except for the unconscious forms of their stanked community, the girls cautiously walked out to search for the missing piece of the Eye of Eternity.

Theresa sighed, trying not to look up at the fight that was happening above her. The two titans had been fighting for only a few minutes, but already it was easy to see who was winning. As Randy took another hit from the Tengu, crashing through a window into the school, it took Theresa everything in her to not go and run after the boy she cared so much for. Instead, she stared down, getting on her hands and knees to look for the amber-looking shard somewhere around here.

"Any luck?" Debbie asked her from the other side of the lawn.

"No. You?" Theresa called back.

The baton twirler saw her friend look up, staring at her incredulously. "Why would you ask me that when you know that I haven't found it?"

Theresa shrugged at that, having not really thought about it. "I don't know. It's just something you say after you're asked that. It's like a formality."

Debbie cocked her head, giving the girl a deadpan expression. "Is now really the time for formalities?"

Theresa stared backing with an equally deadpan look. "Are we really going to spend time arguing about this when our friend is fighting for our life for us?" Debbie went silent at that, not being able to think of her usual snarky response.

The two friends continued to search in silence for a few minutes before Debbie broke the silence. "He's going to be alright, you know?"

Theresa looked up at that, giving her friend a somewhat frustrated expression. "How do you know that?"

Debbie shrugged at that, already feeling ridiculous for what she was about to say. "I don't know…hope I guess. Because I have faith that if anyone is going to help us survive this, it'll be that shoob."

Theresa's expression became of confusion, not expecting to hear those kinds of words from the normally somewhat pessimistic girl. The expression then gained a smile when she realized that, at least to some degree, the girl meant what she said. "When did you become such a big Randy Cunningham fan?"

Debbie shrugged again, but this time also having a smile on her face. "Hey, you're the one who wanted me to stop talking bad about the guy you liked." The girls stood there a moment, both feeling slightly better than they had a few minutes ago.

Debbie was the one who did break the silence. "Well I don't think this thing is over here. I say we should now go check across the street."

Theresa was about to agree when both girls were knocked backwards by some kind of shockwave. Groaning, both girls sat up and looked around, only to see the Tengu knocked on the ground, looking for some reason amused. The spirit then rose back up into the air before flying like a bullet at towards Randy, who didn't have time to block and went flying himself. The two girls were confused as to what had exactly happened, but also didn't have much time to question it though as they heard something crack next to them. Looking around, they soon noticed that the thing that was cracking was the wall that was once a part of their school, which now had a large whole in the center of it. And as the cracks grew larger, that wall began tipping forwards to where the girls laid.

Thinking quickly, Theresa jumped up before running to her left to try and avoid it, but the wall was falling fast. Just as it was about to land, the baton twirler leapt forward, barely avoided being flattened and ending up as taco meat for the next school year. Dust and spackle flew into the air, temporarily blinding Theresa and causing her to choke. Rubbing her eyes a few times and letting out a series of coughs, Theresa moved away from the wreckage far enough to open her eyes.

"Debbie are you okay?," she asked, wanting to make sure her best friend hadn't been hurt. After waiting a few seconds and knew hearing an answer, the girl looked around to see where she was. Her eyes widened, though, when she realized the young journalist wasn't there. "Debbie!" she called again, now looking at the ruins and silently praying she wouldn't spot any blood.

"Theresa!" Debbie hadn't known she had been holding her breath until she heard her best friend's voice. Looking forward, she could see the girl through the dust on the opposite side of the wall. Realizing what had happened immediately, Theresa decided to call out again.

"I'm over here! Are you okay?!"

"Yeah, I'm fine! Are you!" Debbie yelled back.

"I'm good!" Theresa yelled back.

"Do you think you can get across!" Debbie asked, wincing at the rough terrain that was just created.

"Not without breaking an ankle!" Theresa yelled back. "Just go around! I'll meet you on across the street at the front!"

"Okay! Be safe! Keep your weapon with you!" Even from this distance, Theresa could tell the blunette didn't love her idea, but other choice did they have? As she saw her friend begin to walk away, she followed suit, not knowing she that someone watched her as she left.

 _7:10_

Howard yelped as he flew to the ground from some kind of shockwave in the distance. Whatever kind of attack that was released must have been honking powerful; he hoped Randy hadn't been the one on the receiving end.

Getting up, the husky boy quickly leapt away as the Krackenstein came crashing down where he once was. From behind it, he saw the stanked form of Doug, who was basically just a gigantic mouth wearing glasses, walk towards him and let out a roar. Howard just smirked, raising his gun towards his own archfoe. "Oh I am going to enjoy this."

The beast rushed towards him just as Howard pulled the trigger, releasing a quick burst of flame. Because the gun was on its lowest setting and Doug had such thick skin at the moment, he wasn't terribly injured from the hit. It did however startle the monster to run away, Howard chuckling behind him. "Ha! I shot Doug!"

His moment was cut short though as he heard a few screams come from somewhere behind him. Instantly recognizing who they came from, his face became worried as he turned around. "Theresa! Debbie!" he called but got no response. He hoped that it was because they were too far away and not…

Howard shook his head, refusing to think that way. Looking back, he saw the armored form of his best friend go down, a large piece of armor coming off also. While Howard was worried about him, the ginger knew his best friend would be friend by himself, at least for a bit longer. He was the greatest ninja of all time after all. Who he wasn't sure would be okay were the two newest members of his group, who still had very little experience with this sort of thing.

He looked around for somewhere the girls may be but groaned when he realized that there were too many bodies around right now to find the two. What he needed was some higher ground, somewhere he could see where they might be and help-

Howard couldn't help but feel like such a shoob as he began to run forward, not paying attention to how much his lungs burned from the action. Instead, he ran up the semi-intact staircase, towards the top of the bell tower, where he hopes he will find his friends.

 _7:01_

Randy righted himself quickly as melted McSquiddles rained down around him, coming from when his 'Comet Stopper' and the Tengu's attack had hit. Randy was able to activate his rocket boots before he crashed into the ground. Taking a breath, he quickly tried to reactivate the large cannon, yet was confused when it wouldn't shoot. Looking behind him, his eyes widened when he realized why it wasn't working: the blast had knocked the 'Comet Stopper' clean off his back.

The teen hero turned back, glaring when he saw his enemy laughing as it flew above him. " _I must say Ninja…If that is your opening move this battle is going to be over quicker than I thought…I hoped you had something better than that in that costume…_ "

The hero grit his teeth, trying not to pay attention to the burning feeling he suddenly felt in his side. "You have no idea what I can do."

The two opposing forces stared at each other for a few moments, seeming to be trying to some up what their foe was going to do next. Then the Tengu let out a laugh. "' _You have no idea what I can do?..." Was that supposed to intimidate me…_ "

Randy blinked, caught off guard by that. "Well…I was kind of hoping it would."

" _Oh no, no…Not at all…But I do want to thank you…It's always good to have a good laugh before ripping a man to shreds..._ "

"I'm sorry, what?" Randy asked, but had no time for any further questions as the spirit flew like a bullet at the hero, knocking him into the ground. He skidded back in the dirt a good twenty feet, leaving a deep trench where he landed.

Randy opened his eyes, before quickly bolting up when he saw a green lightning bolt come his way. Thinking fast, he activated the freeze rays from his shoulders, hoping to freeze its wings so Randy would at least have the aerial advantage over its foe. He was not expecting the Tengu to absorb the blasts, before redirecting them back at the hero, freezing the cannons solid before they shattered from the temperature. "Oh, come on!" He shouted, not believing how bad this was going. Still, he reactivated the thrusters and shot up.

Seeing how his long-range attacks so far were not working, Randy decided to try the close combat approach. Reeling back his arm, he tried to knock the Tengu to the ground with his super strength. That's when he realized that short range attacks worked even worse. Like it was swatting away a fly, the Tengu hit Randy down with a flip of the wrist. The teen went crashing through a window, landing in what was once Mrs. Driscoll's classroom.

Randy against the wall, not really sure if he was still alive for a few minutes his body was so numb. " _That can't be good_ ", he thought as he sat up. Outside he heard the Tengu taunting him, chiding him to give him a challenge. But honestly, he couldn't think of what kind of challenge he could give right now that would make a difference.

The former hero got up onto shaking legs, not even noticing when some of the plating on his legs fell off from powerful blows he was dealt. He was about to go back outside when something in the corner caught his attention. A sly grin came to his face, an idea forming in his mind.

Outside, the Tengu waited for its foe to return. The spirit sighed, deciding to give him another minute before it would just destroy the whole building and collect the Nomicon afterwards.

"Tengu!" Randy called, gaining the villain's attention. Looking down, it saw the boy come flying out of the hole in the wall, going in for another punch. The Tengu sighed, not sure why it expected more from the powerless teenager. Charging up another nearly powerless blast it threw it forward. His eyes widened however when its enemy exploded on impact. A piece flew forward, allowing the Tengu to catch it. Turning it around, its surprised face became confused when it saw that it was now holding a human skull.

It knew that it was trapped for a long time, but it could have sworn that humans were a bit more resilient than this.

Before it could question what had happened, the Tengu could hear something coming from underneath it. Glancing, it was unprepared as Randy flew up, the missile launcher ready, and fired a shot point blank. The resulting shockwave pushed the chaotic entity back through a nearby wall. Randy only went back a few feet, but the missile launcher was completely blown apart. Randy quickly pulled the broken arm piece, pulling it off and throwing it away. And luckily just in time for the Tengu to come back and slam Randy to the ground, knocking off his chest plate.

Randy crashed into the floor below, leaving an impression of himself in the stone. The hero groaned as he sat up, his helmet cracking and falling off his head. He looked down at his former helmet for a moment before screaming out in agitation, "Where the cheese is that honking piece of stone?!"

The teen looked up as he heard his enemy begin to laugh again. Randy was really starting to hate that laugh. " _Wait a moment, was that your plan?...To re-trap me in that accursed stone?..._ " Randy wasn't sure why, but for some reason this conversation wasn't making him more annoyed; it was making him nervous.

" _Well, I supposed that would have worked…I mean obviously not forever, seeing on how powerful I am now, but possibly long enough to get me away from your precious city…Not sure how you would get in me back in that stone in the first place, but you could have figured something out…You have always been quite the clever one Ninja…Yes, it might have worked out…_ "

"Why do I feel like there is a 'but' to all this?" Randy asked, a pit of dread settling in his stomach.

" _Ha, like I said…'Clever'…You see, this might have worked out if it wasn't for the fact that you had no hope of completing the stone, since I happen to have the final piece…_ " The Tengu spoke, pulling the amber shard from its belt.

Randy wasn't sure what to say as his mouth hung open. To say he was slightly annoyed would be a lie; he was incredibly annoyed because apparently the only plan they had to defeat this monster was in the monster's possession the entire time. Now what the honk was he supposed to do?

Before he could have time to think of a new plan, the Tengu snapped him away from his thoughts. " _Now Ninja, I must admit I had some fun here today, but I feel like this has gone on long enough…How about you just hand me over the Nomicon and I will make your death swift…_ "

Randy narrowed his eyes as he stood up. "Never. My plan may not have worked, but I'll be shoobed if I freely give you what you need to destroy everything I love."

The Tengu's smirk only grew at that. " _While that is a nice sentiment, I think I have something that may change your mind_ …"

Randy was going to question that before he felt his blood freeze as a familiar scream filled his ears. Looking over, he went pale as he saw Theresa come over, being restrained by stanked Bucky. The hero began to see red as he looked back at his enemy as it floated down and picked up the girl.

" _I'm not quite sure what caring about another being feels like…To be quite frankly I never understood the concept, but I do know that you care a great deal about this girl…And I would hate to see something happen to her when you know that you could have prevented it…_ "

The boy's teeth grit as he thought about the position he was in. He knew he couldn't give the Nomicon to this psychopath unless he actually wanted to see the Earth destroyed. Should be as simple as that, right?

But as Randy looked at the girl writhing in his enemy's grasp, he couldn't bring himself to give her up. And it wasn't because of the fact it was the girl he cared for so much-it could have been Howard, or Debbie, or Bucky, or Doug, or a complete stranger-he couldn't not do something when he could prevent them from being hurt at that very moment. He didn't have it in him to stand back.

Yet, if he kept Theresa from suffering, then she would die anyway. No matter what he did, there was nothing he could do to save everyone. Most of his weapons were destroyed by the Tengu already, and whatever he had left was mostly used for show when McFist was trying to sway people. The monsters were destroying his robots, and even if they were winning the Tengu had an almost unlimited number of monsters it could make. Even if Randy managed to somehow win this, what was he supposed to do anyway? He was completely out of-

 _What the juice is Howard doing on the roof_?

While the boy was thinking about how to get out of this predicament, he caught something in the corner of his eye. Looking up, he was surprised to see the aforementioned boy on top of the bell tower. Why in the world would he have thought it was a good idea to go there?

Howard looked down, and locked eyes with our hero, only for them to go wide when he saw the situation his best friend was in. Randy watched as the ginger started to freak out up there and was going to signal him to get down before the Tengu spoke again.

" _Hmmm…It appears that you aren't taking this as seriously as I hoped you would have Ninja…Perhaps I should give you a bit of a demonstration of what awaits your friend if you don't do as I say…_ "

Randy fell to his knees as the Tengu released volts of green lightning from its hands and into Theresa, causing the baton twirler to scream out in agony. Randy tried to hold back a few tears as he yelled out for the beast to stop but was not heard over its insane laughter. After what must have only been a few seconds but felt like an eternity, the electricity stopped and the Tengu let Theresa fall out of its grasp. Falling onto the floor, the girl had visible burn on her lower abdomen with a bit smoke coming off her skin, but Randy sighed in relief when he saw she was still breathing.

Randy began to crawl over to his longtime crush to check on severe her injuries were when something about this situation made him stop. Seeing Theresa injured lying on the floor in front of a powerful enemy, it just brought back a memory…

 _"Hey you jerk! Don't walk away!"_

Randy's eyes widened and slightly crossed as possibly the stupidest idea went through his head.

 _"Using the Tengu's feathers, we were able to defeat the monster, trapping it in the Eye of Eternity."_

Randy looked down at his side where he knew the Nomicon was.

" _Knowledge is the key._ "

 _"So, I sealed the Ninja mask away in the Nomicon, the only place I knew the magic artifact would be safe…"_

He then looked at his other side where the rest of the Eye of the Eternity was.

 _"You see, while the Tengu is a beast made of Chaotic energy…"_

 _"None of these types of energy can be created or destroyed. It however can be transferred…"_

 _"Energy cannot be created nor destroyed yet can be contained. When the Chaos Pearls were destroyed, the energy inside travelled to the nearest container. It was just unfortunate that said container already contained something else."_

He looked up at the beast, eyes landing on the large shard slightly protruding from its belt.

 _"The Tengu's mere presence in this world was enough for the scales of fate to tip in Chaos's favor._

 _"But that meant the balance was now tipped in Peace's favor. And that could not be."_

Randy looked up at his best friend, who seemed to miraculously see the purple haired teen looked in his direction. The two locked eyes for a moment, before Howard calmed down seeming to silently agree to something.

 _"You are one special kind of nuts, Randy Cunningham. Let's hope that whatever you have planned is as crazy as you."_

" _Randy is the bravest person I know, who even in a situation where he should feel scared, he still does the right thing instead of letting it get in his way."_

As the idea solidified in his mind, doodle letters came from out of thin air, before forming a phrase he had already seen today. " _Every piece is important in a puzzl_ e," Randy muttered under his breath, before taking a deep breath. "Oh boy."

The Tengu seemed to have heard Randy mumble something as he turned to the hero. Yet before it could ask what he was saying, Randy spoke, pulling the Nomicon out of the armor. "Alright Tengu, you win."

The malevolent spirit seemed to chuckle at that sentence. " _Well, well, well…Look who came to their senses…_ The Tengu thenheld out its hand to Randy, its cheerful demeanor changing to something a bit more menacing. " _Hand it over…_ "

Randy sighed as he held the book out, bracing himself for what was about to happen next. As the Tengu reached out, Randy quickly fired his remaining rocket launcher. As the beast effortlessly dodged the weapon, Randy went to run around the podium to get to Theresa, who seemed to be regaining consciousness. Unfortunately, the teen barely san 10 feet before he was surrounded in a green aura and lifted into the air.

Randy tried to free himself from the Tengu's hold, but the more he fought the less he could move. Realizing it was pointless, the Ninja simply stood as he travelled towards the Tengu. As he came to a stop, the Tengu began to shake its head, almost as if it was disappointed. " _I guess I should have expected you to be difficult…I will say I am a bit surprised that shooting a missile was the best you could come up with…Tsk, tsk, tsk…Shame... If you're not going to use your toys wisely then maybe should have them at all…_ "

The Tengu rasied its hand and the green aura around Randy began to intensify. The teen screamed in pain as the remaining pieces of the Lucius O'Thunderpunch armor began to crack and rust. The armor turned from its usual white, yellow and red to a crusty orange-brown color, pieces flaking off here and there. Once the suit was completely turned, Randy's eyes went wide as it fell off him in the form of dust, landing in a pile at his feet before a gust of wind came by and blew it away. The green aura began to dim again as the Tengu reached out and grabbed Randy's makeshift costume.

" _So, here we are…It seems like this is the end of road for you, Ninja…_ " The beast gave a dark smirk before continuing. " _As you humans say…'Time to go out with a bang…'"_ The Tengu then chuckled a bit before it erupted into a full of maniacal laugh as it began to rise into the air, a wide-eyed Randy still in his grasp. On the battlefield below, the monsters fell to their knees as the stank left their bodies, turning them back into humans, causing the robots to deactivate seeing no more enemies to fight. The chaotic gas travelled towards the villain, beginning to swirl around it and seemed to radiate with its power.

The beast brought Randy closer for a moment before grabbing the Nomicon and hoisting it high like a trophy. People on the ground stared confused as to what was happening, though could tell something bad was about to happen. " _Finally, it is time!...Time for this pitiful word to be born anew…Remade to be in my image!...Behold a world of madness…A world of chaos…A world of the Tengu!"_ Citizens gasped, some beginning to run and hide in an attempt to avoid his 'new world'. The Tengu finished laughing as it looked down at Randy, who by now had traded his surprised look in for a heated glare. _"But before this, it's time to tie up one last loose end…_ "

Without a second thought, the Tengu brought down it fist and slammed Randy in the gut. The boy cried out in pain as he felt something crack inside him, but had no time to recover as the spirit did it again. This continued a few more times before the beast decided his face was a much more interesting target. The hero saw stars and thought he felt some blood trickling down his face but couldn't tell as it was hard to feel anything on his face at the moment. The Tengu laughed merrily, having the time of its afterlife as it swiped it hand across the boys chest and left behind a cut that looked like it came from an angry lion.

The Norrisvillains all looked on, some having a major headache from being a monster, but all were in a shocked silence as the watched. Debbie looked up also, trying not to get too emotional from seeing her friend in quite literally a life or death situation. Instead she quickly ran through the newly formed crowd and towards the common room to try and help out. Theresa, while barely conscious, shed a tear as through her blurry vision she could see the boy she cared so much for being killed above her and knowing she couldn't do anything to stop it in her condition. Howard looked on from the bell tower, barely holding back tears at seeing someone he thought of as a brother being pummeled senselessly. Yet he remained strong and got his gun ready, prepared for whatever idiotic plan his best friend had.

The Tengu gave a few more hits before deciding it was about time to wrap this up. Using both hands, it threw the boy into the stone below him, earning a gasp from the crowd. Randy groaned as he lied there, blood dripping down his body and one of his arms and legs bent at two unnatural angles. The Tengu descended slightly, lighting its hands with its green fire. Randy opened his eyes, only to widen them at seeing his enemy floating above him, the lines on its body pulsing with power now that it had the Nomicon with it. The hero slowly tried to sit up, wincing in pain when he tried to use his clearly broken arm.

" _I'll admit you were a good workout, but all things must come to an end…Yet, as a show of respect for coming here and foolishly facing me in battle, I will ask…Any last words?..._ "

Randy grunted as he finished sitting up, ignoring the mind-numbing pain he felt in his torso. "Yeah actually I do." Wincing, the teen reached into his pocket, first taking out the unfinished Eye of Eternity. The Tengu raised an eyebrow, not sure what its enemy was planning. Yet its eyes widened as it saw Randy reach into its pocket again and pull out the last shard of the stone. Looking down, it gaped in shock as it saw the piece was missing from its belt. Looking back, it showed an anger it had never felt as Randy smirked. "You really should keep a closer eye on your belongings."

 _"You worthless piece of-…"_ The Tengu began but was cut off by Randy.

"HOWARD NOW!" Randy cut off as he slammed the last piece of the stone into the Eye of Eternity. The spirit dropped to one knee as its lines dimmed drastically, the stone being completed seeming to have weakened it. Yet that was the least of its worries.

Howard looked in his sights, and seeing it pointed directly at the spirit with the weapon turned to its highest setting. "Time to fly the coop Tengu," he said before pulling the trigger. He then groaned as a torrent of flame shot out. "Oh my cheese, I can't believe I just said that."

The Tengu began to feel something extremely hot hit its back, which in its weakened state felt unbearable. Managing to look behind it, it saw the boy it had possessed before shooting a flamethrower at the Tengu, which was beginning to destroy its form. " _No!...This is impossible!...Victory was mine!..._ "

"I told you; you have no idea what I can do," Randy said, voice sounding weak but confident.

" _NO!_ " The Tengu cried out one last time as it turned to ash. The ashes gathered in the air before immediately travelling toward the Tengu Stone, entering it in an instant. As the last of the Tengu disappeared, the cracks began to heal itself and a few moments later, it was back in mint condition.

Randy breathed a sigh of relief, believing the worst to be over. However, he grunted in pain as he was hit by something from behind, falling on his stomach with the stone still in hand. Looking behind him, his eyes widened as he saw the stank cloud previously surrounding the Tengu begun to surround him, with a tendril shooting out every few seconds to try and hit the Eye of Eternity. Randy tried to shield the orb with his body, but as a few of the tendrils hit the stone, cracks began to form once more on its surface. The boy grimaced, realizing that if this continued, his plan to try and get the Eye out of the city wouldn't work.

Luckily that was no longer the plan.

Randy looked ahead and saw the discarded Nomicon lying ahead of him on the podium, left behind when the Tengu was destroyed. Using all his strength Randy tried to stand up, but only succeeded in getting to his knees before doubling over in pain. It seems his injuries were more severe than he originally thought. Pushing himself back up, he tried not to panic as everything began to darken and instead used his good arm to start pulling his body towards the mystical book.

Randy cried out a bit of pain with every action he performed, but knew he had to keep going. Looking at the Tengu Stone, clutched clumsily in the hand connected to his broken arm, he saw the tendrils of stank begin to come with more ferocity, three coming at one time to free their master. Pieces of. The stone began to fall off as the cracks grew, not being able to withstand much more of this.

Being fueled by his determination, Randy looked back forward and saw the Nomicon was now an arm's length away. Reaching as far as he could and ignoring the painful pop he felt in his back, he grabbed the Nomicon and brought towards him. Using every working muscle in his body, Randy sat up on his knees despite his bent leg begging him not to. He opened the Nomicon to a random page and, with a deep breath, slammed the Eye of Eternity into the pages.

As the stone collided with the book, a sort of portal was formed from the ink. The stone seemed to be pushing back, but Randy used all the energy he had left to push the stone downwards. An avian sounding cry seemed to resonate from the orb as the hero was able to push down all the way, the stone completely disappearing. A wave of energy pulsed from the Nomicon, pushing Randy away towards the edge of the stone podium. The teen weakly opened his eyes, and threw his double vision saw the Nomicon close on its own before the red light it emitted dulled to a gray. Then nothing.

Randy smiled. It was over. He couldn't believe he had done it. His eyes closed as he breathed a sigh of relief, his injured finally seeming to be too much to handle as he drifted into unconsciousness. With only the force of gravity now acting on his body, Randy began to tip over the ledge, falling a good 25 feet and landing hard next to Theresa. Briefly he could hear the worried cries that sounded from below him, which sounded like they were from Howard and Debbie. Briefly could he hear the cheers of the citizens outside as the sky became clear, the stank dissipating without someone to control it.

Then nothing.


	15. Chapter 15

_June 19_ _th_ _, 5:07_

The hearse pulled into the driveway of the suburban house. A group of men and women dressed entirely in black looked at the vehicle designed to carry the deceased sadly. A woman towards the front seemed to be a bit worse for wear as she broke down into tears, which from the looks of it had been happening lately. A group of teens, two girls and one boy, were also beginning to tear up but tried to stay strong. This seemed to be easier for some more than others as the tallest girl followed the adult woman and broke down into tears.

The group began to get into some cars, the woman and teens climbing into the same car. As the last person got into a car, the hearse backed up and began to drive away. The rest of the cars followed the black car as they made their way to the funeral of the person they missed so dearly.

In the house next door, Howard looked out of the bedroom window, looking confused. "What's happening out there?"

"Oh, my neighbor's dad died last week. It was really sad. Yeah, my mom invited the whole family over last weekend for dinner as a way to help out," Randy said as he looked away from his reflection in his mirror.

"Man that stinks," Howard commented, looking away. The two stayed in silence for a moment before changing the subject. "So, show me what you got."

Randy rolled his eyes at his friend's comment but chose not to comment on it. Instead, the teen turned around and held his arms out, gesturing to his current outfit. He was wearing a pink satin shirt, tight black skinny jeans, and a pair of meticulously polished leather dress shoes.

"Nope, absolutely not!", Howard said, waving his arms and averting his eyes from his friend.

"Aw come on, this is the eighth outfit you've had me try on! What's wrong with this one?" randy cried indignantly.

"Oh nothing," Howard began, picking at his nails. "I'm sure you and Theresa will have a great time at the disco. It'll be psychedelic."

Randy mumbled under his breath, seeing his friend's point but still angry he would have to change again. Slipping his right arm out of his sleeve, he began to carefully move the left sleeve over his cast. Once he was done, he did the same for his pants, being careful not to mess with the cast on his right leg. 

Randy still couldn't believe how lucky he was. When you really thought about it, he could have severely injured beyond recovery, like being paralyzed or… Randy shook his head, deciding not to think about that. But besides the broken arm, shattered kneecap, 3 cracked ribs, broken nose, and severe concussion, he got off with only a few scratches. He was even luckier that people believed a building had fallen on him and no one put together the Ninja had sustained the exact same injuries.

Really though, his injuries were worth it so that everyone was safe. The Tengu and the Ninja were both gone forever, trapped in the Nomicon where neither the bird nor the mask would have any effect on the outside world. His work was done; the Ninja was truly no longer needed. The teen's smile grew at that. While a month ago he may have felt depressed at knowing he was no longer able to be a hero, Randy now knew it meant that the world was going to be a better place for the people he promised to protect. He was being a hero by giving up on being a hero, and that was okay with him.

Norrisville was still under construction from the Tengu's attack, but the citizens had mostly settled back into their regular routines. People were enjoying their summer vacations thus far, behaving like everyone hadn't been under the threat of mass genocide a few weeks ago. Besides the occasional visit from government agents or out of town superhero, it was back to being the same old Norrisville. Well, minus the evil sorcerers and crazed billionaires.

Randy pulled his new shirt on his head and straightened it out, before showing Howard his new outfit. He was now wearing a red collared shirt, a pair of dark blue jeans, a thin black jacket, and some converse. Howard whistled, apparently liking the outfit. "Now that's what I'm talking about!"

Randy grinned at the praise before looking at his watch. His eyes widened when he saw it was 20 minutes from six o'clock. "Oh my juice, the movie starts in 20 minutes! I have to go!"

Howard laughed at that. "Yeah, can't upset the old ball and chain, right?"

Randy rolled his eyes but smiled nonetheless. After the Tengu was defeated, Theresa had been administered to the hospital for her burns. Luckily, she made a speedy recovery, and a day after she got out of the burn ward she and Randy had begun dating. If he was honest with himself, no longer being the Ninja would have been a lot harder to deal with.

"Whatever man. You doing anything fun tonight?"

"Yeah, me and Debbie are going to the Game Hole. Going to teach her how to play Grave Puncher."

Randy raised an eye conspiratorially at his friend. "Oooh, I see love is in the air tonight."

Howard scoffed at that as he began to climb down from the top bunk of Randy's bed. "Trust me Cunningham, that will _never_ happen for a number of reasons."

"Okay, okay," Randy said conceding, but still not sure why Howard was so defensive about it. Eh, a conversation for another time.

Howard and Debbie were actually adjusting well to the new group dynamic. Though at first, they had shared an animosity towards one another, they had bonded while visiting their friends in the hospital and making sure they didn't do anything stupid while recovering. Things still were a bit uncomfortable at times and they did argue, but at this point it was relatively harmless.

As Randy fixed his hair a bit, Howard was about to jump off the ladder when he accidently knocked the former ninja's backpack off the bed. The satchel hit the floor, opening up and causing the Nomicon to slide out.

Both boys stopped what they were doing and looked at the ancient book for a few moments. Then Randy walked over and picked it up. He smiled sadly as he ran his finger over the formerly red lines, no longer feeling it pulse with energy as it once had. Once the mask had been banished, the magic that powered the Nomicon had seemed to be cut off, rendering the book just that: a book. No longer would it shloomp Randy in during the day to teach him a new power or an important life lesson. Randy sighed, knowing that his adventures were truly behind him.

Howard stepped off the ladder and tentatively walked over to Randy. Warily, He put his hand on the boy's shoulder and gave him a sympathetic look. "You okay, Cunningham?"

Randy stared at the Nomicon for a few more moments before he let out a small smile. Though he knew he had no connection to the Nomicon anymore, he swore he could see a phrase be formed in front of his eyes. _When the Ninja is no longer needed, the Ninja shall lay down his sword._ "Yeah Howard, I am." The ginger let out a smile also, believing his friend's words.

Randy then sighed, setting the book down on his desk. "But I won't be if I miss my date. Believe it or not, Theresa can get pretty crazy about time."

Howard laughed at that as the two friends made their way out of Randy's room. "Oh, like you aren't. Are you forgetting when we went to the petting zoo in fourth grade and-"

"You promised you would never bring that up again!" Randy shouted as they walked down the hall, their voices fading away.

The room was still for a moment. That is, until the 800-year-old book began to shake slightly. It began teetering closer to the edge before it stopped and began to glow, changing from the dull gray color to a lively red. The lines pulsed for a moment before it faded one last time.

 **And that is it! It has taken me one rewrite and one year, but The Final Battle is finally finished. I just wanted to take a moment to thank everyone who has favorited and reviewed over these past months; you guys are the reason this story was made and why it was finished. Thank you all so much.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the story, and until next time…SMOKEBOMB!**


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